MAGE
by KiwiWizard
Summary: AU Pokespe Some people are born as mages. These people have to go to MAGE school, where they are taught how to use their powers. Unfortunately Yellow and her friends join as a dark plot threatens the school... special, oldrival, frantic, agency,mangaquest
1. Welcome to MAGE

**Author Note:**

**I wasn't actually planning on writing any fanfics, but I got this idea and really liked it. I hope you do too. :) I have lots of ideas and hopefully it will get better as it goes on. This is my first fanfic, so if it sucks, that's why. Constructive criticism is appreciated. **

* * *

><p>Prologue:<p>

In the world this story takes place in; a small percentage of people are born with inherit magical power. Of these few people, fewer still actually have their magical power activate. A mage's power is only able to activate between the ages of 14 and 17, if their power doesn't activate before they turn 18, then their power will stay dormant forever. A mage's power is usually activated by a strong emotional response in the person. When a mage's power unlocks, it almost always happens in an explosive way. This makes it virtually impossible for a mage to keep their power a secret. When a person is discovered to be a mage, they are sent to MAGE (the Magical Academy of General Education). At MAGE a mage learns how to control their power. Mages are almost universally discriminated against by non-magical people, so MAGE is as much to keep mages away from the general populace, as it is to protect mages from them.

* * *

><p>Chapter 1:<p>

Yellow POV

I sat sullenly on my bed, looking at all of my things lying haphazardly on the floor. These were the things I would never see again, the things I needed were already packed into a small, yellow suitcase, which I was resting my feet on. Today was the last day I would spend at home. My house was situated right next to a forest, and I used to spend all of my free time there. I always felt more at home with the animals than with my actual family. But one day, I woke up and the forest had been cut down to make way for a strip mall. The anguish and anger I felt at this was so intense, that it awoke my magic. I remember the feeling of the magic coursing through me, transmitting my anger to the animals around. The animals responded to my anger, becoming angry themselves and they started attacking the workers. Luckily the magic enforcers showed up before the animals hurt anyone too badly, but by then everyone in the town knew what I was, so I was doomed to go to MAGE.

MAGE is the place where they send all mages to learn how to control their magic, but there's one caveat: once you're there you can't leave or contact anyone outside. This is mostly for the students' protection, because mages are extremely prejudiced against, so mages that are left in contact with the outside world end up bitter and vengeful.

I sighed and went downstairs to eat dinner with my parents for one last time. "Yellow darling, nice of you to join us," said my mom who was sitting with my dad at the dinner table. This was a lie. My parents hated mages just as much, if not more than the most ardent mage haters in my town, which means that they hated _me_. They had always had a problem with me because of my extreme shyness. They thought that there was something wrong with me, and now their beliefs were vindicated. I was a mage, which in their eyes is the most hated thing in the world.

"I thought I'd eat dinner with you for one last time," I said as I sat down at the table with them and started to fill my plate.

"Are you excited about going to MAGE?" my dad asked.

_Excited? Leaving everything I know to become a mage in some super-secret school? No way. _"Of course dad, I'm sure that I'll have a great time at MAGE," I said instead of what I actually wanted to say.

"I'm sure you will dear." The rest of the meal past in silence, my parent's polite conversation quota met for the day.

* * *

><p>The Next Day:<p>

I dragged my bag over to the corner of the street to wait for the bus that would take me to MAGE. I didn't have to wait long before it pulled up in front of me. It was a fairly normal looking bus, aside from the fact that all of the windows were covered with black paint. This was so that the students like me wouldn't know where MAGE was located; they didn't want us to try to run away. I handed my bags to the large forbidding man who had come out when the bus stopped. "Get on," he growled at me. His voice was deep and gravelly and outright terrifying. I squeaked and ran onto the bus as fast as I could.

The interior of the bus was quite dark (because of the covered windows) but there were dim lights on the ceiling that made it bright enough for me to see that there were three other people already on the bus. They were all spread out around the bus, none speaking and none sitting next to each other. They made such an imposing scene that I panicked and picked the seat closest to me, which happened to be the one right at the front, but luckily I picked the side that wasn't behind the driver. As soon as I was seated the bus soon started moving.

I didn't have a carry-on bag, so I had nothing to do while I waited. Sitting and doing nothing quickly got boring, so I decided to take a look at my soon-to-be fellow students. The boy with spiky brown hair seated all the way in the back of the bus was staring out the window, except that the window was covered…so really he was just staring at a black wall… A bit creeped out, I looked at a girl sitting a bit closer to the front. She had dark blue hair put up into two pigtails; the rest of her was obscured by the book that she was reading. The last person on the bus was the closest to me. He was wearing a white hat and appeared to be knitting, but I was probably mistaken, I mean why would a guy be knitting?

Having found out all I could about the other students without actually saying something or turning the lights up, I was reduced to doing nothing again. So I sat. And sat. And I sat some more. Eventually the bus stopped again, but we weren't at MAGE yet, we were at another student's house. There were so few new mages each year; that the same bus was used to pick up all of the new students. Of course this meant that some mages had been known as mages for months before they were sent to MAGE. Really I was one of the lucky ones; I can't even imagine how hard it must have been to live in the town with all of those people hating me for so long.

The dull thud of a bag being thrown into the storage area of the bus roused me from my thoughts. I heard the next student coming up the steps and looked up as he rounded the corner. He was wearing a red jacket and jeans and had a red cap covering his messy black hair. He grinned at everyone and said, "Hey guys!"

The silence was deafening. I could almost feel everyone turning to look at him. I waved at him nervously, but was too afraid to actually say anything. He looked down at me and grinned. He walked over and slumped into the seat next to me. "I'm Red," he said. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh, I- I'm Yellow…" I stuttered. _Why can't I talk without stuttering? _I thought angrily to myself.

"So what type are you?" Red asked. He was referring to the fact that every mage's power is one of twelve types. There are nine elemental types (Fire, Water, Nature, Electric, Ground, Air, Light, and Dark) and there are two mental types (Illusion and Knowledge). The last type is the Force type. Force mages can't manipulate an element, but they don't have power over the mind either, so Force mages don't actually fit into either category they're just listed by themselves.

"I'm a Nature type. What about you?" I was ridiculously proud of myself for not stuttering while I said this.

"I'm an Electric type." At this point the bus stopped and the door opened again. This time a girl with a really fluffy, brown ponytail and a pink hat walked in. Red waved at her as she passed and she smiled briefly at us before passing us and sitting further back.

"What do you think MAGE will be like?" I asked Red quietly, trying not to make too much noise.

"It'll be great won't it? We'll all be mages so no one will discriminate against us," responded Red, his voice much louder than mine. He was obviously an extremely outgoing person. The complete opposite of me. I would retract this statement once I met Ruby and Sapphire.

"I guess that's true," I replied.

I guess I didn't sound very convincing though, because then he said, "Don't worry, you know me right? So you have one friend already!"

I blushed and looked at the ground. _We've known each other for five minutes and he's already calling us friends?_

We chatted about trivial matters for the rest of the bus ride.

During the trip four more people had entered the bus. A boy with messy brown hair, a girl with long straight brown hair covered by a large white sunhat, a girl with brown hair and – strangely enough – _fangs, _anda boy with spiky black hair and goggles. They had all sat down and rode in silence like the first three.

The bus finally arrived at the school and the scary bus driver turned around and said "Gerroff the bus maggots!" Most of the kids – including me – scrambled as quickly as possible off the bus. The bus driver got out after us and started grabbing bags from the bottom of the bus and hurling them behind him – right where we all happened to be standing.

"Watch it!" yelled the girl with fangs as a bag flew past her in the face. The driver ignored her.

I felt someone grab my arm and I looked up to see Red who pulled me behind him. "I don't want you to get hit, you'd probably get squashed," Red said in answer to my confused look. _I'm not that small, _I thought a bit indignantly, but I was still touched by his gallantry.

* * *

><p>Once all the bags were out of the bus (and strewn haphazardly on the ground) we all grabbed our respective bags and followed the driver who had gestured at us to follow him. MAGE was surrounded by a large brick wall that I assumed ran along the entire perimeter of the school. There were no roads or pavement anywhere in sight; all the pathways that I could see were made of brick. The bus was parked in the grass and I'm not sure how it got through the wall, as there were no gates or breaks anywhere in the wall, but it <em>is <em>a magic school. There were flowers and trees strewn about the grounds in no pattern that I could discern. The driver lead us to a large brick building which had the words 'Academic Advising' emblazed on it in large black letters. The building had large glass doors, which the driver went through.

The interior had white marble flooring and there was a desk with a professional-looking woman seated behind it. "Welcome everyone!" exclaimed the women in a way-too-happy voice. "You must be the new students. Thank you Bertrand you can go," she said the last to the scary-looking bus driver. She stood and walked over to us. I fleetingly wondered how she could walk in the outfit she was wearing. Her heels were higher than any I had seen before and it seemed like the smallest gust of wind would knock her over. "Now come along children!" The receptionist led us out the back door and into a large courtyard. The courtyard had brick walkways leading to the admissions building (the one we just left) and to two buildings, one on the left side of the courtyard and one on the right.

"Those two big buildings are the main academic buildings, and they are where you will have most of your classes." We walked past the two large buildings and out into a grassy field. There were several small square buildings placed in seemingly random locations on the field. "The buildings you see now are the dorms." She led us to the front of one of the buildings. The building was two stories tall and painted white. "All ten of you will be in this dorm. You will find all the information and your keys inside the building. Enjoy your stay!" Then she walked off without a single backward glance.

"Well, let's go in," said Red and he opened the door. Inside was a large common room. There were four black couches facing a large flat screen TV. The TV was sitting atop a cabinet. The cabinet had glass doors and I could see several video game consoles inside it. I stared at the spread wide-eyed. I had never seen so much expensive technology in one space before.

"Look at all the stuff," the boy with goggles said excitedly.

"Oh, we should do introductions!" said the brown, straight-haired girl excitedly. "I'll start, I'm Blue and I'm a Water mage. It's nice to meet you all."

"I'm Red and I'm an Electric type."

"Ah! I'm Yellow, and I'm a nature mage," I said as the introductions got around to me.

"The name's Gold, Fire mage," said the goggle boy.

"…" The next in the circle didn't say anything.

"Introduce yourself!" yelled Blue shaking he fist at him.

"Tch, fine I'm Green, Fire mage."

"My name is Crystal and I'm a Force mage," said the girl who had read the whole drive.

"Sapphire! I'm a Nature mage like blondie," said the fanged girl pointing at me. _I already introduced myself…why is she calling me 'blondie?'_

"So unladylike," said the boy standing next to her.

"What did you say?" yelled Sapphire staring at the boy threateningly.

"Uh, I'm Ruby, an Illusion mage."

"I'm White! It's nice to meet you all," said the girl with the ponytail.

"What's your magic type?" asked Gold after a while had gone by and she hadn't offered the information herself.

"I-I'm Illusion type!" She laughed, but she sounded a bit nervous. I vaguely wondered why, but the next introduction made all thoughts of White leave me.

"I'm Black and I'm going to be THE BEST KNOWLEDGE MAGE EVER YAHOOOOOO!"

After everyone had regained their hearing, Blue suggested, "Well, with that over with, should we go look at the rooms?"

I wandered over to the coffee table situated in the middle of the common room and looked through the papers lying on it. There were ten information packets sitting on the desk. Each of them had one of our names on it in large black letters. I picked up the one that said 'Yellow' and opened it. Inside the information pack was a page full of personal information and a booklet labeled _The MAGE Handbook_. I didn't bother to open it yet – I'll read it later. I saw my room number on the information page, so I decided to go find my room so that I could put my bag away.

* * *

><p>I walked up the stairs nervously, clutching my information packet tightly. The second floor was separated by a wall, so you had to go up two different staircases to get to either side. One side was the girls' section and the other was the boys' section. There were five rooms in the girls' section and each door had a name written on it. I found the door with my name on it and went inside. The room was decorated a wooden desk, dresser and bed. There was another door on the other side of my room, which I opened curiously. Inside was the bathroom. <em>Well that's boring<em>, I thought disappointedly. I sighed and sat on the bed. It was comfortable, but it wasn't home. I could never go home, not anymore. _At least I know that one of the people here is nice_, I thought remembering how nice Red had been to me. I looked at the page of information and found the section that talked about which classes I would be taken. The paper said that I was in Level 4 section A. _I hope that Red is in there too, _I thought wistfully._ Wait, I just met him!_ I quickly looked back at the information sheet to stop myself from thinking too much. Six classes, Manipulation, Creation, Divination, Protection, Precision, and…P.E.. _What? I've been shipped off to a magic academy and I _still _have to take P.E.?_

"Hello! I'm your next door neighbor," said a cheerful voice from the door.

I looked up. The girl with straight brown hair stood at my door. What was her name…Blue? "H-Hello, You're Blue right?"

"Co~rect!" she said with a sing-song voice. "And you're Yellow. What level are you in?"

Something about her unnerved me a bit, but I didn't see any harm in answering her question. "Level 4, Section A."

"Me too! We can go to class together tomorrow," she said in a way that gave me no option to refuse. I didn't really mind though, going to class with someone would be much less scary than going by myself.

"Okay."

"I'm going to go say hi to the other, see you tomorrow morning Yellow~"

She left and I relaxed again _I have to watch out for her_, I thought. _She seems suspicious._ I got up off the bed and looked around the room. There was a laptop computer and speakers sitting atop my desk. The desk had two drawers that I opened. The first was full of pencils, paper and other assorted school supplies. I decided that the things in this drawer was boring and opened the second drawer. It was full of books with titles like _Magic and You, _and _How to Control Your Power_. I investigated the closet next. It was full of school uniforms which consisted of a short sleeved white blouse with an optional black jacket that could be worn for warmth then a black and silver knee length skirt for girls and black pants for the guys. My shoes were lined up at the bottom of my closet; several pairs of black closed-toed shoes.

"Hello, I live across the hall from you," said a friendly voice from my door. I turned around and walked over to the door.

"You're White, right?" I asked.

"Yes, that's me. White Touko," She responded while bowing. "I'm in Level 1, section B."

"Ah, I'm Yellow Amarillo, Level 4, section A."

"R-really? You're three years older than me?" she asked shocked.

I nodded. This wasn't the first time I had gotten this response, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. I had always been short for my age and even now I still looked like a little kid. I briefly wondered how old Red thought I was. "I'm 17."

"Wow! I'm only 14; I thought for sure I was older or at least the same age as you."

"Yeah, I get that a lot…"

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, but I need to finish unpacking my things. See you later," White said as she walked out the door. _That's a good idea,_ I thought and walked over to my bag. There wasn't very much in my bag, it was mainly clothes, but I had a few personal items as well. I put my clothes in the closet and put the pictures I had in my bag on my desk.

That done, I decided to go downstairs to take a better look around. No one else was down there and I assumed that they were all still unpacking. Both the staircases were in the common room, but on different sides of the room. There was a door on the opposite side from the front door, which I opened and looked through. It lead to a spacious kitchen, which was full of more appliances than I could name, much less _use._ I looked through some of the cupboards, but the sheer amount of different spices and foods overwhelmed me so much that I gave up with that room and went to look at the last room in the building. The last room was a dining room which had dark wooden flooring and an antique chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a large wooden table and ten cushioned dining chairs spread around it. Satisfied with my explorations for the moment, I went back to the common room.

Sapphire was lying on the couch with her feet on the coffee table. She turned around when I came in. "Hey! Yer Yellow right?" I nodded nervously. "We're both nature mages, so we'll be in the same special class!" She seemed nice, but her appearance intimidated me.

"Ye-yeah that's right."

"Let's be friends!" She yelled while thrusting both of her fists into the air.

I smiled (if a bit weakly) and responded, "Okay."

At that point Blue came down the stairs holding a book and running away from Crystal, who appeared to be trying to kick her in the head. A few seconds later Gold and Black came down the stairs looking dejected. "I can't believe he kicked us out," Gold mumbled. _What is going on?_ I wondered.

* * *

><p>Earlier:<p>

Blue's POV

I left Yellow's room and headed towards the next room. I wanted to hurry and meet everyone so I could start finding out their secrets. My one true calling in life was discovering peoples' secrets and then using them to benefit the greater good (well, the greater good as I saw it anyway). I ran into Sapphire in the hallway, "Hi!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, I was going to check out the TV downstairs, wanna come?" she asked. The way she spoke was quite forceful and I was reminded of how Ruby had called her unladylike earlier.

"I'll be down in a minute; I'm just going to say hi to White and Crystal first."

"Okay, see ya," she said as she continued on her way down the stairs. I past the room that was labeled 'Sapphire' and continued on to the room labeled 'Crystal'. Inside Crystal was sitting on her bed holding a soccer ball.

"Hello!"

She looked up. "Oh, hi," she said. I seemed to have interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you a soccer player?" I asked, my natural nosiness aroused.

"Yeah, or I used to be anyway. Why do _you _care?" she asked, suddenly suspicious. I don't know _why _though, I'm so innocent...

"I just want to get to know my dorm mates better!" I said with a sing-song voice as I walked over to her desk.

"What are you doing?" she asked distrustfully.

"Nothing," I said as I opened her drawers and looked through her stuff.

"Hey!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Leave my things alone." I grabbed a book from her drawer and opened it. "Put that down!" she yelled and then kicked the soccer ball at my face. I quickly dodged and gave thanks for my super fast reflexes. She ditched the ball and started trying to kick me directly.

"Aaah!" I kept dodging and ran out the door, but she chased me.

"Don't just randomly take people's things!" She yelled as she chased me. I ran down the stairs with her hot on my heels. In the common room I saw Yellow talking to Sapphire, who was lounging on the couch, and Gold and Black coming down the stairs. I looked back and saw a foot headed for my face, so I ducked as quickly as I could. Unfortunately I wasn't quite quick enough and her foot hit the top of my head.

"Oww!" I shrieked holding my head in fake pain (It didn't actually hurt very much; I just wanted her to feel guilty).

Crystal looked a bit horrified. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you that bad!" she said apologetically (_Score!_ I thought as I giggled behind my hand) "Now give me my book back," she commanded, all apologies gone from her voice. _Darn._

"But Crytaaal, We're going to be best friends right, so I should be allowed to borrow your books if I want," I whined

Crystal (and everyone else in the room) looked at me like I was insane, but then again, maybe I am. "I never said we were going to be best friends and even if we were you can't read _that_ book. Give it back."

"Fine," I relented and gave her the book back, but I made a vow to myself. I _would_ see what was inside that book. Nothing stays secret from Blue.

* * *

><p>Earlier:<p>

Gold's POV

My room was…_AWESOME. _They gave us computers! And the greatest thing, I didn't even have to pay for any of it. Since all mages were forced to go to MAGE we didn't have to pay for anything. Actually they paid _us_. We were given a weekly allowance, all paid for by the non-magical people. You'd think that they would resent having to pay for people they consider pariahs (Ha! My middle school teachers were wrong, I _can _use big words), but they considered it a fair trade for getting us out of their towns.

"Hey, I guess we're neighbors," said a voice from my door. I turned and saw Black.

"Did you_ see _all the free stuff we get?" I asked him excitedly.

"Yeah, isn't it great? WOOOO!" he yelled, his excitement levels matching mine.

I was about to join in his yelling when the annoyed voice of Green said. "Keep it down; I can hear you in my room with the door closed."

"But look at all the awesome free stuff we get, how can I keep from shouting my happiness to the world?" asked Black. He looked and sounded totally serious too…He's a bit weird… I like him!

"All the stuff is awesome, yeah, but even better, we have a bunch of hot girls living here with us," I said.

"Tch, Go downstairs, both of you," growled Green. Even though his voice sounded level and quiet, I could feel the anger about to come crashing down on Black and me. I guess he thought we were taking too long in complying with his command, because he grabbed Black and my arms and pushed us towards the stairs. Black and I walked down the stairs by ourselves.

"I can't believe he kicked us out," I mumbled half to Black and half to myself. What I saw when I looked up surprised me. I saw Blue clutching a book – _is that a diary?_ – while being chased by Crystal who was trying to kick her. I saw Blue pause for a minute at the bottom of the steps to look at us. This was a mistake on her part because it made her too late in dodging Crystal's latest kick.

"Oww!" Blue screamed. I'm fairly sure it didn't hurt as long as her scream implied.

Blue and Crystal argued for a while about being best friends and borrowing books or something, I wasn't really paying attention. I don't think Black was either, because when I turned to look at him I saw that his eyes were glazed over and there was a distinctly blank expression on his face.

"What is going on?" I asked.

"No idea," said Yellow, who was staring at Crystal and Blue in horror.

Blue stood up and loudly declared, "Crystal and I were just affirming our sisterly bond!"

"When did I become sisters with you?" Crystal asked annoyed.

Blue ignored her. "We just had our first fight, but now our relationship is all the stronger because of it!"

"I don't get it," Sapphire said from her spot on the couch.

"I don't either," said Yellow, who sat down next to Sapphire.

"Aww, Sapphire, Yellow you have both been missing out if you don't know what friendships are like," Blue said and she was about to continue on, but a voice stopped her.

"You all are so loud," this was from my new arch-enemy, stick-in-the-mud, AKA Green.

"C'mon man, we just got here, we can be quiet later," I said.

Blue giggled and walked over to Green, "We're not _really _bothering you are we?" she asked batting her eyelashes at him.

Green looked disturbed and mumbled "I'm going outside." He added, "Don't follow me," when Blue started to follow him. He slammed the door behind him.

Blue giggled, but it wasn't innocent, far from it. I could tell that I would have to watch out for her.

* * *

><p>Earlier:<p>

Red's POV

_So, I'm level 4 section A, I wonder if any of the others are in there. _I had just finished unpacking my bags and had decided to check out my class list. _I wonder what level Yellow is in, _I thought remembering the shy blonde girl from the bus. I was going to read about what classes I would be taking when I heard a loud "WOOOOO!" _Wha-? _Then I heard Green telling them to keep it down and go downstairs. _Hah…That was a bit harsh_, I thought, feeling a bit sorry for the objects of Green's anger.

Not long after I heard a commotion downstairs. I decided that I wasn't going to be able to concentrate with all the noise, so I might as well just go and see what was going on. I left my room and ran into Ruby, who was also heading down the stairs. "Do you know what's up with all the noise?" he asked. "It's disturbing my sewing."

_Did he just –, _"Did you just say, sewing?"

"Yeah, I sew, got a problem with that?"

"No! Not at all, I just wanted to make sure I heard you right," I replied and laughed nervously. "Why don't we head downstairs?" I suggested and started walking.

We went down the stairs and arrived at chaos. Blue was giggling maniacally, Yellow was sitting on the couch looking terrified, Sapphire was rolling on the floor laughing about something and Crystal was trying to kick Gold in the head. I looked at Black, who seemed more or less unaffected by the situation, "What's going on?" I asked

"Crystal doesn't like being called super serious gal," he said. That was the only explanation Ruby and I were ever given.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook:<em>

Knowledge Type:

The knowledge type is the most disputed mage type. Knowledge mages are unable to manipulate their element (as it is intangible), but they never forget anything and never have any trouble understanding new concepts. This on its own wouldn't have made Knowledge mages qualify as a mage class, but eventually it was found that Knowledge mages had an affinity for divination. There is still some debate about whether they are truly mages or not, but they have been officially designated as mages. Knowledge mages don't have their power unlock like other mages do, they are born with their abilities, which is another point in favor of not having them listed as mages. In the end though it is up to the knowledge mage themselves if they are considered a mage or not, as it is nearly impossible to tell if someone is a knowledge mage or not unless they let you find out.


	2. Teachers are Terrifying

**Author Note:**

**First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorite and alerted my story That made me really happy! I also meant to mention last time that this story is a bit inspired by Starran's A Miscellaneous Tale of Night and Day. You should read it if you haven't yet.**

**Oh and for the purposes of this story, White is the one who was friends with Cheren and Bianca, not Black, this will be important later in the story.**

**Disclaimer: I didn't put this in last chapter, but no, I don't own any of the characters…except Bertrand the bus driver...**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Teachers are Terrifying<p>

Yellow's POV

I was nervous, I mean I'm nervous a lot of the time, but I was even more nervous than usual. It was our first day of magic classes today. The change was just so sudden. One day I was a normal, if extremely shy, girl going to an ordinary school and then four days later I was going to a new school to learn how to control my magic powers. I looked at myself in the mirror on my wall. The uniform fit me perfectly and I briefly wondered how they knew my size, but at a school for mages, there isn't much point in wondering about things like that. The uniform was actually quite comfortable and it was more fashionable than anything I had ever worn before, definitely a step up from my last school's uniform (which resembled a trash bag more than actual clothes). I checked my watch and saw that it was time to go to class, so I headed down the stairs to meet Blue. "Good morning Blue," I said.

"Good morning Yellow! Ready for class?" she sounded very chipper and I got the feeling that she was a morning person.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"That's good enough, come on!" We had decided t leave early in case we couldn't find the right room, so we were the first ones to leave the dorm that morning. The others didn't seem to be as worried as Blue and I, because I hadn't seen or even heard anything from the others' rooms. Blue and I walked along the path from our dorm through the field to the courtyard we had walked through the day before. "Okay, our class is in the Sun building, which one is that Yellow?" asked Blue.

I looked at the map I was holding. "Um, according to the map, the building on the left is the Moon building and the one on the right is the Sun building." It ended up that it was obvious which building was which once we saw them though. The Sun building was golden in color and had a large ornate sun mural covering the courtyard side of the building while the Moon building was colored silver and had a mural of the night sky covering the courtyard side of the building.

"Well, I guess the map was kind of unnecessary," said Blue.

"Yeah…It's a bit obvious which is which now."

"We still have to find the room though, Room 202." We went inside the building and felt a rush of cool air hit us from the inside. The halls were so white they were practically shining. The blinding white was only interrupted by black doors that lined the hall. Each door had a number written on it in delicate looking silver letters, the first of which was 101. We found our room without any problems and went inside. The room was painted white just like the hallway, but the wooden desks and the large windows made it less blinding then it was in the hallway. I was slightly disappointed that it was just a normal classroom; I had come to expect extraordinary things at this school. The only odd thing about the room was the large wooden bowls that were situated on top of each desk. I had read in the handbook last night that these bowls were there to contain our magic. They had barriers on them so that if a student's magic went out of control, it wouldn't be able to get out of the bowl. Blue and I were the first ones in the room, so we had our pick of the seats. Well, really Blue got to choose and I followed her. Blue chose a seat near the center of the room and I sat down next to her. Soon the other students, which included Red and Green, started filing in. Red looked just like he had when he had come onto the bus yesterday and Green entered looking extremely bored.

"Ohoho! Green is here," Blue said, her voice filled with evil glee. If I were Green, I would be terrified, Blue really seemed to have it out for him. Red noticed us and grinned.

Red and Green (though he was being dragged) walked over to us. "Hey guys!" said Red as he took the seat to the left of me (Blue was sitting on my right).

"Heeeey Green," said Blue. Green's eyes widened and he turned to walk away from us, but before he could get away, Blue grabbed his arm and forced him into the seat next to her.

"Ehehe, poor Green," I said watching as Blue looked at him like he was a piece of meat/object to be tortured while he tried desperately to ignore her.

"Yeah, I wonder why she has it out for Green," Red said.

Before I could respond (not that I had an answer for him anyway) the teacher came into the classroom. "Quiet down everyone!" he yelled. I was instantly terrified of him. He had yellow hair sticking up in random angles and was wearing an army uniform. "I'm Lt. Surge and I will _not _tolerate any messing around in my class. You will do whatever I tell you _when_ever I tell you. You will not speak unless spoken too. Now let's begin your first manipulation class. Manipulation is all about offensive ability. You can use your element to attack people before they attack you. Remember speed is everything. If you're too slow than the enemy will destroy _you_ before _you_ can attack them." By this point his words had all turned into a loud wordless blur and I was trying not to faint from fear. I know that he said a lot more, but I don't remember anything else he said until a plant was dropped unceremoniously into my wooden bowl. I looked up and saw that Lt. Surge was putting a sample of everyone's elements into their bowls (excluding the psychic, force, illusion, and knowledge mages). Red had a battery in his bowl, Blue had half a cup of water in her bowl and Green had a lighter in his. "What are you waiting for, start!"

Uh-oh, I don't know what we're supposed to be doing! I looked at Red to see what he was doing. He was holding his right hand above his bowl and seemed to be concentrating very hard on something. I looked to my left and saw Blue and Green doing the same thing, so I tried to copy them. I held my hand above the sapling in my bowl and concentrated. The problem was I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be concentrating _on_. "Drain the power," Red whispered beside me.

I mouthed 'Thank you' at him, feeling a bit embarrassed. I held my hand above the plant and tried to feel energy coming from the plant into me. Nothing happened for a while, but eventually I began to feel energy flowing from the plant into my hand. My hand started to get a tingling sensation and my hand started to glow slightly green. I saw that other people were having the same results as me, except that their hands were glowing the colors of their respective elements. There were a few people that hadn't managed to drain the power from their sample, but I saw that Red, Green, and Blue had all succeeded.

* * *

><p>Beginning of Class, Take 2:<p>

Blue's POV

Soldier man gave a rather intimidating introduction, and I saw Yellow freeze up from the corner of my eye. I tried to nudge her discretely, but every time I moved even a little Lt. Surge would glare at me, so I stopped trying and listened. "There are a few different types of Manipulation," he was saying. "The first one we are going to learn is how to draw energy from your respective elemental sources. Once you have drained the power from your element, you are then able to use that energy in a number of different ways, but we are going to start with just drawing out power. I don't want you to get in over your heads and blow things up. Now wait there while I put an elemental source in front of each of you, oh and Force, illusion, psychic, and knowledge mages, just sit there and take notes or something." He walked around and dumped things into each person's bowl. He poured water in mine and then he dropped a plant in Yellow's bowl. I saw her jerk backwards a bit and hoped that she had come out of her shocked state. "What are you waiting for, start!" Lt. Surge yelled suddenly. I put Yellow out of my mind and quickly thrust my hand over the bowl and tried to draw power from the water. I finished second, Green beat me. I was going to defeat him eventually; there was no doubt in my mind about that.

"Good job to those who succeeded those of you who didn't, TRY HARDER!" Lt. Surge yelled. Everyone started a bit at his sudden increase in volume (except for Green. He was completely unflappable, so naturally, I was going to have to bust through his indifferent exterior. Poor Green, he really has no idea what I have planned for him – insert evil laugh–). "That's enough for your first Manipulation class, later," Surge said, and then walked out without so much as a backward glance.

"Uh, what?" I asked no one in particular.

"Class is over now," said someone at the front. "It's time for the Specialized class."

"It's time for Specialized class already? But class just started!" I yelled back.

"All the classes here are short. The teachers just teach as long as they want to, which usually isn't very long."

"Then what's the point of going to class?"

"Sometimes they tell us something important. And he would probably kill us if we weren't here."

"I didn't even hear anything he said," Yellow mumbled.

"When did you stop listening?" I asked.

"After he said 'I'm Lt. Surge!'" she said, trying to mimic his voice, but she failed…epically. Her voice was much too innocent-sounding to pass for a grizzled army lieutenant.

"How could you not hear _anything _he said? I couldn't block it out and I was trying to." This extremely long sentence was brought to you courtesy of Green. I didn't know he was capable of saying so many words at one time. I hadn't heard him say anything other than, "keep it down" the whole time we'd been here (which was admittedly, less than a day).

"Wow," I said with exaggerated awe. "You said so many words in one sentence!"

Green looked irritated but he didn't say anything. I still put that reaction in my favor. I was starting to get to him. I started laughing manically to myself and the others looked at me nervously.

* * *

><p>First Class: Take 3:<p>

Crystal's POV

Great. I'm in the same section as the guy who calls me 'super serious gal.' He's sitting next to me right now, staring at me. I want him to stop, but if I yell at him I would have to acknowledge him. I can't decide what's worse, letting him stare at me or admitting that he's bothering me. As I pondered this the teacher came in, which made Gold shift his gaze to the front of the room. _Finally._ "Good morning!" said our teacher. She had bright blue hair that was in a ridiculously high pony-tail and was wearing some sort of costume. I don't know what it was that she was trying to dress up as, but no way that was what she wore normally…right?

"I'm Clair, and I am the BEST teacher in this school, no matter what anyone says okay!" I nodded nervously. _What's wrong with her?_

I heard a voice from beside me (the side that Gold wasn't on) say, "Stupid costume woman."

"What was that?" Clair roared. I was impressed, we were pretty far back, how did she hear that? "Silver you are the bane of my existence; I will prove that I am better than you this year."

I looked beside me at the person I assumed was Silver. He had bright red hair and a cynical smirk on his face. "I can take you any day _Professor Clair_," he said, making the last part sound like an insult.

Clair lunged at him but a girl with a huge white hat stood in front of Silver. "Don't fight with him professor," she pleaded. "If you ignore him then that means you win!"

Clair's attention was caught at the word 'win' and she looked at the girl. "Lyra are you saying that if I don't fight him, then _I _win?"

"Of course! Not giving into the juvenile urge to fight makes you a better person."

Clair seemed to ponder this for a while, then said, "Hmph, fine I'll let him be this time then."

"Coward," said Silver.

I saw Clair snap at this comment. "I can't ignore that, bring it punk!" she screamed as she leaped at Silver. I quickly got up and moved, which, unfortunately, put me closer to Gold.

"Oh professor," moaned Lyra, her head in her hands.

"Does this happen often?" I asked incredulously.

Lyra sighed. "All the time. Clair has been our teacher for the last three years, but she's never actually gotten around to _teaching _us anything. She's always too busy fighting with Silver." I looked up at this last comment and saw Clair who was trying to punch Silver.

"That sounds great!" said Gold. "A class where I don't have to do anything," he continued, his voice taking on a quality of wonder.

"Yeah, that part sounds okay, but then during tests we never know how to do anything. I mean they can't make us repeat a year or anything, since the levels are age based, but we always get the lowest ranks, it's kind of embarrassing."

"I don't want to be at the bottom, argh stupid kid, why does he keep picking fights with the professor anyway?" I complained.

"It's not really Silver's fault," explained Lyra. "On the first day of class in Level 1, Clair wanted to earn our respect, so she picked a random student to have a duel with. She picked Silver, and well…he won. Clair challenged him every day after that and she never won. When we got to Level 2 she stopped attacking him, but they would still argue everyday and eventually Silver began to start fights with her. Still, Clair shouldn't give in so easily…" Silver and Clair were still fighting and had knocked over several of the desks. It was lucky that most of the students had already left, or someone would have been injured by now. I sighed, sat down in one of the newly vacated seats, pulled out a book and tried to learn whatever it was we were supposed to be learning.

Gold leaned back in his seat and grinned, "I already love this class," he said.

"Shut up Gold."

* * *

><p>First Class Take 4:<p>

Ruby POV

We had been sitting in the classroom for a while and the teacher still hadn't shown up. I was trying to design clothes to pass the time, but the barbarian girl kept interrupting me, "what are ya doin' sissy boy?" she asked.

Ugh, so unfeminine. "I'm designing clothes," I replied.

"Why? We have to wear a uniform."

"Not on weekends."

Sapphire leaned over in her chair to look at my drawing, "It looks like a dress. You don't wear dresses do you?"

"Of course not, it's not for _me._"

"Then who _is _it for?"

"You."

"What? Why?"

"I'm making it so that you can stop wearing the barbaric clothes you normally wear."

"Well, I don't like you're hat! Take it off."

"No! I'm not taking my hat off."

"Why-"

"Would you two stop flirting!"

Sapphire and I both turned to the voice and yelled, "We were not flirting!" The offending party had ridiculously tall blonde hair, but he himself was really short. Are we seriously the same age?

"Whatever, you're annoying me," he said.

Sapphire stood up and started readying her fists. "You have a problem with me kid?" she growled at him. At this point the teacher finally arrived.

"New girl, please don't kill Emerald," he said. "If you do I'll have to fill out a lot of paperwork." Something is _off_ about this teacher. He had spiky blonde hair and looked excruciatingly bored. After Sapphire sat back down he said, "I'm Volkner." And that was all he said for about five minutes. Everyone stared at him expectantly, but he just stared mutely back at us. Finally he said, "Well, I showed up, that's good enough." Then he walked back out the door.

"Wh-what?" I spluttered. We all sat here waiting for almost half an hour, and when he finally gets here, he just _leaves_?

"I heard about him from students who had him last year. Apparently he does this a lot," said Emerald. "He's extremely unmotivated."

"This place sucks!" yelled Sapphire shaking her fists angrily.

"You're such a barbarian," I said.

She glared at me, "Well you're a sissy."

"You're too manly."

"You're pathetic."

"You'r-"

"Stop flirting."

"WE'RE NOT FLIRITNG!"

* * *

><p>First Class Take 5:<p>

Black's POV

Last night I read most of the books the school had given us in preparation for classes, so I knew a lot about magic already. I read about the mechanics of Manipulation (the class I was sitting in right now) and I had learned the basics of the other disciplines as well. Of course I couldn't actually put any of this into practice since I was a knowledge mage. I had always known more than anyone else in my year, but It wasn't until I began to understand things better than my teachers did that I realized I was a knowledge mage. I stopped that train of thought and looked at White instead.

White was sitting next to me with one of the information books. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm looking to see if I can start a talent agency," she said while studying the book carefully.

I remembered reading something about that. "You can start any kind of business as long as you don't have to go outside of the school," I told her.

"Really? My dream will still come true then," she said, her eyes becoming glittery and her expression full of hope. "The BW Agency will still be formed!"

"You two are new right?" said a person sitting in front of us and next to a blue-haired girl. He had blond hair and was wearing a green scarf.

"You're scarf really clashes with the uniform," White said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Don't insult the way I dress!" he yelled.

"Calm down Pearl," said a black-haired boy sitting on the other side of the blue-haired girl. "They're new, don't attack them."

Pearl didn't seem appeased but he introduced himself, "I'm Pearl."

"I'm Diamond, but call me Dia," said the black-haired boy, who was eating a sandwich. "And this is Missy," he continued pointing at the girl sitting between him and Pearl.

She turned to us, "It is very nice to meet you," she said politely. Her name is…_Missy? _

"It's nice to meet all of you, I'm White, and this is Black. But, I thought all the new students were on the bus yesterday, but I thought everyone in Level 1 was new too."

"No, we've been here for half a year already. The most common age for a mage's power to unlock is when they're fourteen, so they send a bus especially for fourteen-year-olds half way through the year. This is the only section of level one classes though," Pearl replied.

"But we're in Section B."

"Yes, but that's the only section for Level 1 classes."

"That makes no sense," said White angrily.

White and Pearl's argument was stopped by the sound of our teacher opening the door. She had dark blue hair and was holding a stack of books about archeology, which she put on the desk in front of her. "Welcome class, I'm Professor Lenora. Today I will tell you about the basics of manipulation." I pulled out a notebook and a pen so that I could write notes. Not that I needed them, I would always remember everything I had ever heard, saw or experienced, but I had written so many notes in school outside MAGE to try to pretend to be normal that now it felt weird _not_ to take notes.

"There are four different ways of manipulating an element: Draining, Transforming, Bending, and Empower. Draining is where you draw power from your element. You can then release this energy in a number of ways, the most common of which is direct release. That is where you release the surge of energy all at once in a particular direction. Transformation is where you change the state or structure of the element sample you start with. An example of this is if a water mage were to freeze a sample of liquid water, it would be a Transformation. Bending is where you alter the shape of the element. Transformation and Bending are often used in tandem. The last method of Manipulation is Empower. This is where you donate some of your energy to a being or object of your elemental type. Well, that's enough for today. Bye!" Lenora suddenly grabbed her books and left.

"…That was weird…Right?" asked White.

"Actually, most of the classes end up like that, especially Level one classes," corrected Missy. "Since a student can enter the school at Level one, two, three or four, they have to re-teach everything each year, so they don't bother teaching much at the lower levels."

"Yeah, the only reason Lenora even bothers is because she likes teaching," added Pearl.

"Most the other classes are just people yelling at each other," commented Dia.

"Then why do people go?" I wondered aloud.

"If you don't go to class they don't let you use any of the other MAGE facilities," Dia answered.

"What other facilities?" asked White.

"I read about those in the Handbook," I said. "We're in the Academic section of MAGE; there is also a social section. It's all run by mages that graduated from here. They have cafés, restaurants, stores, and there are businesses as well – that's where you'd be able to set up your talent agency."

"Talent agency?" asked Missy.

"Yes, my dream is to create a first rate talent agency," White replied.

"Oh! We have to get to specialized classes now. Winona will get really mad if I'm late!" exclaimed Pearl as he ran out the door. Missy and Dia followed after saying goodbye to us.

"Well I guess we should get going too," I said to White. She nodded and we both went to our respective classes.

* * *

><p>Start of Second Class<p>

Sapphire POV

I hate him. I really, seriously hate that guy. He was designing _clothes_ during class, what kind of guy designs clothes? And he _sews _too. I bet Yellow, Blue, White and Crystal don't sew. "Hey Yellow, do you sew?" I asked Yellow, who was sitting next to me.

"Huh? Uh no, no I don't," she responded. Ha! See, Yellow doesn't sew.

"What about Blue, does she sew?"

"Uh, I don't know. If you need someone to sew something for you I think Ruby sews," she offered.

"I KNOW!" Yellow shrunk back into her seat a little. "I'm trying to find out if the girliest person in our dorm is Ruby. All he does is design clothes and talk about how unfeminine I am all day. Just thinking about him makes me so angry!" I yelled jumping up in anger.

Of course this was the point where the teacher walked in. "Please assume your seat," she said. She was wearing a kimono and had short black hair. "I'm Professor Erika and I'm the Nature magic specialist at MAGE. Yellow, Sapphire, since you two are new you will be going outside to find your familiars. Once you have found them you are done for the day, no need to come back here."

"Familiars?" Yellow asked

"Yes, your familiar is the main way that you will cast magic. Your familiar will be either a plant or an animal. Once your familiar has bonded with you, you will use most normal magic, such as manipulation magic, on or through your familiar. Now go outside and search for your familiar."

"Come on blondie!" I said as I grabbed Yellow's arm and left the room. Yellow's so tiny, I still can't believe she's older than me. We left the building and walked out into the center of the courtyard. "Where to now Yellow?" I asked her.

"Ah, I feel like I should go left," said Yellow pointing down a pathway that led to a small wooded area.

As I stood there I felt something pulling at my mind. The sensation was coming from the right. "I think I'm going right," I told Yellow.

"See you back at the dorm," said Yellow as she turned and walked down the left path.

I felt myself being pulled towards one of the exotic gardens on campus. Once I arrived at the garden, one particular plant drew my attention. It appeared to be a Venus Fly Trap, but its roots weren't in the ground, instead they were above the ground grouped into two leg-like formations. It leaned towards me when I approached. "Your, my familiar?" I asked it confused.

"That's me!" it said in a whispery low voice. I looked at it shocked.

"You can talk."

"Of course I can! All plants can talk, it's just a matter of whether your dull human ears can hear us or not. And yes, I'm your familiar. Please call me Toro." The mouth part of Toro seemed to be her head and it moved when she talked. Toro used two extra long leaves as arms and was making exaggerated gestures at she talked.

"Toro."

"Yes," she said. Then she walked over to me and used her leaves and roots to climb up until she got to my waist. Once there she wrapped her roots around me and her head looked up at me (I'm not sure how she could see though, she didn't have any eyes). "So where do we live?"

"Uh, over there," I said gesturing in the direction of the dorm.

"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!" the pla- I mean _Toro _said excitedly.

"Alright, let's go." First I'm swept off to a mage school and now I'm taking orders from plants, what next?

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I felt a warm feeling in my soul pulling urging me to go to the left, so that's where I went. The feeling was leading me towards a small wooded area. I walked until I heard a high, squeaky voice say "Hey Yellow! I'm your familiar!" I looked down at the owner of the voice. It was a squirrel. Her big bushy tail twitched erratically and she looked at me with large round eyes. "I'm ChuChu," she said.

"Nice to meet you, but uh, how did you know my name?" I asked confused.

"We've met before; I used to live in Viridian Forest." The name of the forest I used to live by – the one they chopped down – was called Viridian Forest.

"Really?" I asked excitedly. "Are all the other animals from there around here too?"

"I don't think so. We all got split up, I saw you getting on the bus, so I jumped on top to stay with you." ChuChu climbed up my leg and took up a position on my shoulder.

"That's too bad, I would have liked to see them again," I said wistfully. "It's great that you're here though!" I felt an instant camaraderie with ChuChu. I don't know if it's because she's my familiar or if it's because she's from Viridian Forest, but I knew that we were going to be best friends. "Come on ChuChu, let's go home."

* * *

><p>Back at the Dorm<p>

Crystal POV

The teacher for my Specilization Class didn't even show up. He left a note that said

'_Sorry kids, the waves are rockin' today at Dewford City, so I just had to surf. I'll see you guys tomorrow!'_

_-Prof Brawly_

Both of my teachers are completely unreliable. "Hey Crystal!" yelled Sapphire. "You're back already? I thought I finished early."

"My teacher didn't show up," I said. Then I looked at her. "What's that clinging to you?"

Sapphire had started telling me about her familiar as Yellow came in. There was a squirrel clinging to her shoulder and Blue came in shortly after.

"Welcome back you two, how were your classes?" I asked.

"My teacher kept talking about the beauty of water," said Blue.

"Our main teacher yelled at us a lot," said Yellow.

"Well, apparently my main teacher gets into fights with a kid named Silver every day," I responded.

"Wait, did you say Silver?" asked Blue. "Is he a bit taller than me with bright red hair?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

Blue laughed half-heartedly, "Yeah, you could say that. He's my brother."

* * *

><p><strong>End Author Note:<strong>

**No, Silver isn't Blue's biological brother, but right now that's what everyone else thinks. Sorry there were a lot of classes in this one…there won't be as much in the next one. And for those of you who watch Avatar: The Last Airbender, yes, I took the bending part of manipulation from them.**


	3. Much Ado about Silver

**Author Note:**

**Thank you to the people who reviewed and favorited! :D**

**Here are the types of the characters introduced last chapter, I'm not sure when I'll get around to saying in the actual story, so I just put them here:**

**Platina is Psychic type (I actually think she would fit knowledge type better, but I need her to by psychic for the story)**  
><strong>Dia is ground type (because all of his team are slow with high defense)<strong>  
><strong>Pearl is air type (because he goes places so fast)<strong>  
><strong>Silver is dark type<strong>  
><strong>Lyra is light type<strong>  
><strong>Emerald is ground<strong>

**This chapter was going to be shorter than my last two chapters and ended up longer...not sure how that happened. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Much Ado about Silver<p>

Crystal POV

"Silver is…your brother," I stated incredulously. "You don't even look alike!"

Blue laughed. "He's not my _actual_ brother," she said between giggles. "He's _like _my brother. We've been through a lot together."

There was a resounding _Thud _as the door flew open and Green stormed in. He stomped right past us and continued up the stairs towards his room. Gold trailed in after him chortling. "Gold. What did you do to Green?" I demanded suspiciously.

"Nothing!" refuted Gold. Yeah, like I believe that. Green and Gold are in the same specialized class. Gold probably terrorized Green the entire time.

"Never mind emotionless," said Blue. "I want to see Silver. Where is he?" she asked eagerly.

"What does Blue want with the angry kid?" Gold asked, confused.

"I don't know where Silver is," I answered, ignoring Gold completely.

"Well find him," Blue ordered.

"How?" I demanded.

"What are you talking about?" wondered Gold.

"Silver is Blue's brother," Yellow tried to explain to Gold, inadvertently making the situation worse.

"WHAT? Silver is Blue's brother?"

"Everybody be quiet!" I yelled. "Gold, Silver and Blue are good friends and he is _like _her brother, Blue, I have no idea how to find Silver, find him yourself and Black, when did you get here?"

"I got here just now," Black replied looking confused.

"Hey guys, we're baaack!" sang White as she and Ruby walked in the door. White caught sight of Black and lunged for his arm. "Black! You're coming with me." She stated and pulled him back out the door before he had a chance to object.

"Where're they going?" wondered Sapphire.

"White wants to start a talent agency," answered Ruby.

"How do you know sissy boy?" asked Sapphire.

"We're in the same specialized class."

"Well-"

"Quiet!" I screamed…again. "Stop arguing."

Ruby and Sapphire stopped shouting, but they glared at each other. Good enough I suppose. I sighed. "I'm going for a walk," I said. It was getting crowded in here and I was curious to see what MAGE had to offer.

* * *

><p>White's POV<p>

My dream of owning a talent agency will soon be a reality! I managed to convince (read: dragged against his will) Black to bring me to the office of business affairs. "Why am I here again?" asked Black.

"Because you are generously helping me start my talent agency," I explained happily.

"When did I agree to do that?" Black wondered. I ignored him.

"So is this the building?" I asked. We were standing in front of another brick building (almost all of the buildings at this school were made of brick) which had the words 'Business Center' written on it.

"Yep, this should be it," Black replied. We walked inside and entered a room similar to the one in the admissions building, complete with annoying receptionist.

"Excuse me," I said to her. "I would like to start a business." She ignored me and continued typing away on her computer. I waited, but as she still hadn't acknowledged my presence, I tried again. "Excuse me." When she ignored me _again, _I got angry. "HEY YOU!" I shrieked.

The lady _finally _stopped typing and looked up at me. "What?" she demanded.

"I'd like to start a talent agency," I responded.

"Here," she said, as she thrust a large packet of paperwork in my direction, then went back to typing again. I bet she's not even really working. She's probably playing solitaire or something…

I shuffled through the paperwork. "There are a lot of questions here," I commented to Black.

He shrugged and replied "I guess they want to make sure you're serious."

"Of course I'm serious! This has been my dream for years, a bit of paperwork won't stop me!" I started answering all the questions as fast as I could, not noticing Black's slightly bewildered expression.

* * *

><p>A little while (and 20 or so pages of paperwork) later<p>

Black's POV

Wow. White sure finished that fast. Even the receptionist looks surprised. "Okay, here's your business permit," said the receptionist lady.

"Yay! Thank you," exclaimed White. "Come on Black," she commanded while grabbing my arm. She seems to like doing that to me. I get the feeling that she's going to be dragging me around a lot.

* * *

><p>Back at the Dorm<p>

Still Black POV

White dragged me up the stairs to her room…I'm not sure why yet. I've learned not to bother trying to figure out what she wants with me, she'll tell me eventually. White turned around to face me and took my other hand in hers. "Black," she said, her tone conveying extreme gravity. "I need a website."

"What?" A website? Seriously?

"You're really smart, so you can make websites right?"

"…Just because I'm smart doesn't mean that I know how to make websites White."

"Please," she begged, holding her laptop out towards me.

"Look White, I have other things to do to, I can't just use all my time helping you for free," I said. Unfortunately, as I was saying this I brought one of my hands up a bit too quickly and it bumped White's computer, which was being balanced precariously on her arms. The small jolt I gave it knocked it off of her arms and sent is spiraling into the floor. I dove in a futile attempt to catch it, but I couldn't make it in time and the laptop impacted with the floor. There was a disturbing _crunch _as the screen cracked and some of the keys fell off.

We both gaped horrified at the ruined computer for a few seconds. White broke the silence with, "They're going to make me pay for that, you know. You owe me."

"What?" I exclaimed. "I don't have any money, I didn't bring any with me and the school hasn't given me any allowance yet!"

White appeared thoughtful then told me her plan. "Fine, you are now my employee. Your earnings will be put towards paying off my computer. Congratulations! You now work for the BW agency!"

What…just happened?

* * *

><p>Somewhere on Campus:<p>

Blue POV

I _will _find Silver. I don't know where he is, but if I walk around long enough I'm sure to find him!

"Uh, Blue, where are we going?" Oh, I forgot that I had dragged Yellow along with me.

"We're exploring the campus Yellow! We're not _going_ anywhere," I replied.

"But, I don't remember how to get back to our dorm a-," she started, but then the squirrel thing on her shoulder made a few chittery noises and she finished with, "Oh, ChuChu knows the way, so I guess it doesn't matter."

"You can really understand that thing?" I inquired, skeptically. It looked like a normal squirrel to me. Now Sapphire's plant, I believe that _that _thing is magical. Or just plain weird.

"Of course," replied Yellow. "She just said that she knows her way all around campus, so we don't have to worry about being lost."

"Didn't she get here at the same time we did?"

"Yeah, but she has her animal intuition."

"Handy."

"Yep."

We walked in silence for a while. Then I saw a flash of red, _Silver_, I thought. I ran after it. "Aah, Blue where are you going?" Yellow shouted after me.

I didn't answer and kept running. I got closer to the red blob and it actually _was _Silver, well, his hair anyway. That's surprising. "Silver!" I yelled.

He turned and I saw his expression turn to shock as I leaped on him. "Blue? What are you doing here?" he mumbled out. He was having trouble speaking around my arms which I had wrapped around him.

"I'm a mage silly," I answered releasing him. "It's great to see you, how long's been, six years?"

"Five years actually Blue, I'd think you could at least remember how long it's been," he chided. "When did you get here?"

"Yesterday." By this time Yellow had caught up to me and was looking at us with a strange look on her face. "What?" I asked her.

She looked flustered. "Nothing! I just – he wasn't what I was expecting!"

"What were you expecting?" I wondered.

"I don't know," she said defensively. "He's just not what I was expecting."

I turned back to Silver. "So, what have you been up to?"

"I've been stuck at this school for five years, so, not much," he replied.

"Five years?" asked Yellow. "But, you're in Crystal's year, so you're 16, right?" Silver nodded. "But, you've been here since you were eleven? Powers don't unlock until you're 14."

"I know that," retorted Silver. "Mine _didn't_ unlock until I was 14."

Yellow looked at him in a way that clearly said _then why were you here?_

I took pity on her and answered. "Since Silver's parents are both powerful mages the probability of him being a mage was extremely high, so they took him here early, even though his power hadn't unlocked yet. Silver and I are going to catch up, why don't you head back to the dorm Yellow?"

"Okay, but, will you be able to find your way back without ChuChu as a guide?" she questioned.

"I'll be fine, see you later Yellow!" ChuChu jumped off of Yellow's shoulder and started leaping through the grass. Yellow jogged after her. "Well Silver, where can we talk?"

"Come on," he said and walked towards a cluster of building. Soon we arrived at a small café. It was again, a brick building, but it had a black and silver striped awning. In large gold letters the name of the café, The Taste of Magic, was emblazed on the front. "You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

"Nope!" I replied. "You're paying right?"

"Paying? Since when did you start following the law?"

"Well, I have to stay here for a while, so I don't really want all the store owners to hate me."

"Hasn't stopped me, but fine, I'll pay for you this time."

I grinned at him. It was _so _easy to get him to do things for me. Behind his gruff and menacing exterior, he had a kind heart.

* * *

><p>At the Dorm:<p>

Green POV

That was the worst class I have ever had. During the entire class Gold kept repeating "Green." Over and over and over again. Even when I acknowledged him, he wouldn't stop repeating my name. Even when the _teacher _told him to stop he kept saying my name. Maybe I shouldn't have snickered at him when he told me that I was his new arch-rival and to be on the lookout. He was even more annoying than _Blue_, and she had it out for me.

I heard a knock on my door. "Greeeeeeen," came the voice of Gold. Argh. _Don't answer. Don't answer,_ I repeated to myself internally. "Greeeeeeeeen. Green. Green. Greeeeeen."

I got out my MP3 player and put in my headphones, it was going to be a while before I would be able to leave my room safely.

* * *

><p>At A Taste of Magic Café:<p>

Silver POV

Blue and I entered the café and my senses were immediately assaulted by the conversations of the patrons. This particular café was extremely popular, so it was almost never vacant, but as much as I preferred solitude to places like this, it _was _the best café at MAGE and I knew Blue would never forgive me if I brought her to a second rate place. We found an unoccupied table by the window and Blue started perusing the disgustingly pink menu.

I really hadn't expected to see Blue again, after five years of no contact I had given up hope. Blue and I had been through a lot of things together. I still remember the day we met like it was yesterday…

* * *

><p>FLASHBACK<p>

I don't remember the actual kidnapping, or anything before the kidnapping for that matter. I don't know why, maybe my mind blocked it out, but I may never know for sure. Regardless, the first thing I can actually remember with any clarity was being shoved into a room. There was very little light in the room, but I found this oddly comforting, the darkness was my friend. All I could make out in the gloom were rough patches of darker color, not enough for me to identify anything in the room. My eyes had started to adjust when I heard a soft whimper. I shifted my gaze towards the sound, but I still couldn't make out who or what had created the noise. "Hello?" I called into the darkness.

"Who's there?" responded a shaky female voice. I walked towards the voice and came upon the owner; however, I couldn't make out her features in the low light settings.

"I'm, - " I stopped at that point. I didn't know who I was. I didn't know where I was from or my name, if I even had one. I looked around frantically for something I could tell her and saw the silver moonlight spilling in from a hole in the wall. Silver moonlight. Silver, that's as good a name as any. "I'm Silver," I finally finished.

"Blue," she stated. I wondered what was blue until I realized that that was her name.

It's a bit of a blur after that. I remember that we were taken out of the room and thrust in front of the leader. He was seated atop a throne and was wearing a mask which concealed his true face completely. I don't remember what he told us that day, but somehow we ended up as his servants. Blue and I were taught the art of being unseen. He taught us how to steal, how to pick locks and how to be unobtrusive. After a year or so of this intensive training he sent us out into the field.

Blue and I were partners, but we were by no means the only servants, the man, who we referred to simply as 'The Masked Man,' had many followers, Blue and I were just the newest. As partners Blue and I were to work together to accomplish our objective. Most of the missions are just a blur in my memory, the only one I truly remember is the one during which Blue and I escaped. It was luck really, he had given us a mission where we had to steal something from a museum with state of the art security. We couldn't wear the trackers that he usually put on us because it would trip the alarm, so Blue and I snuck into the museum, stole the fossil and never returned to the Masked Man.

After running away we lived on the streets for a while, stealing what we needed to survive. We tried to find out more about the Masked Man as well and eventually found out that he led the Masked Band. He would take children from backgrounds of magic and keep them in his care until their power unlocked. By this time, they would be completely under his control.

When Blue and I went to steal from a museum (the same museum that we used to escape the Masked Man actually), we were discovered. Blue managed to get away, but the security teams caught me. They brought me to a police station where they eventually found out that I was a Masked Band escapee. They didn't know who I was, but since the Masked Man only took people who were from magic backgrounds, they sent me here, to MAGE, figuring that I would probably end up being a mage. They were right.

* * *

><p>PRESENT<p>

"What'cha thinking about Silver?" asked Blue, who had just finished eating a piece of cake. I didn't even realize the waitress had been to our table, I must have really been lost in my thoughts.

"Just thinking," I responded.

Blue looked like she was about to respond, but a voice interrupted her. "Hey Silver, I don't usually see you eating with a girl." It was Lyra. My obnoxious housemate.

"What are you doing here Lyra?" I snapped.

"It's a café, I'm here to eat," she replied flippantly. I didn't understand how she always showed up where I was. Either she had some weird Silver radar or fate just liked to mess with me.

"Who're you?" Blue asked Lyra.

"I'm Lyra!" she exclaimed "I'm one of Silver's housemates. Are you Blue?"

"Yeah, you've heard of me?" Blue looked surprised, I was too actually.

"Yeah, Silver talks about you sometimes."

"What! I do not," I refuted.

"Well, not when you're awake," clarified Lyra.

"What do you mean, not when I'm awake?"

"Well, you talk in your sleep." After Blue and I stared at her disturbed she quickly explained. "You fell asleep on the couch once, everyone was there, not just me, you can ask them!" then quietly added "I'm not a stalker…"

"Blue, Silver, Lyra? What are you all doing here together?" I turned to look at the owner of the new voice. I vaguely remembered seeing her in the class earlier today, but if I had ever heard her name, I didn't remember it.

"Crystal! It's nice to see you again," said Lyra.

"Nice to see you too," replied Crystal.

"I was just catching up with Silver," Blue explained in response to Crystal's earlier question. "Lyra is Silver's housemate, you know her?"

"We're all in the same class," replied Lyra. "Hey Crystal, why don't we grab a table and leave these two alone."

"Okay, I don't have any money though," Crystal responded.

"That's alright, I'll pay for you." I rolled my eyes; the stupid light mage was always giving things away. Eventually she would give everything she owned away. Idiot.

* * *

><p>Crystal POV<p>

Lyra and I sat down at a table on the opposite side of the café from Silver and Blue's table. I picked up the menu (which was a rather ferocious shade of pink) and scanned the choices. All the items had names like 'Sunshine Daisy Cake,' and 'Fluffy Heaven Dream Mousse.' A bit nauseated I stopped reading the names and looked at the descriptions instead. In the end I just got a hot chocolate, it was too cutesy for me. It didn't seem to bother Lyra though, because she ordered what seemed like one of everything on the menu. "So Crystal, feel free not to answer, but how did you end up here?" Lyra asked.

"I'll tell you how I ended up here if you tell me how you got her," I offered.

"Deal," Lyra replied with a smile.

"Alright, well, I never knew my parents. I grew up in an orphanage without much money, so I knew that there was no way I would ever be able to go to Elm Academy, the university I really wanted to go too."

"Oooh, Elm Academy, yeah that place is expensive," Lyra interjected.

I ignored her comment and continued. "I tried to get an academic scholarship, but with all the chores I had at the orphanage and my part time job, I just didn't have enough time to get the grades I needed for the scholarship. I had almost resigned myself to not going when in high school they told us that we needed to do an extracurricular activity. I looked around for a bit and, well I eventually joined the soccer team."

"Oooh soccer." I glared at Lyra. "Sorry," she apologized. "Please continue."

"Anyway, I ended up being a really good soccer player, and I found out that Elm Academy gave out sports scholarships. But, they disbanded the girls' soccer team in my sophomore year, so the people at Elm academy would never get to see me play. I was so angry at the school my power unlocked. But MAGE University is a really good school as well, and I don't have to pay for it at all!" I finished happily

"Wow, I think that's the least tragic story I have ever heard from anyone here," commented Lyra.

"Haha, yeah I know…Really my power unlocked because the soccer team was disbanded. It felt way worse at the time."

At this point the waitress came back with twenty or so plates full of the food that Lyra had ordered and my hot chocolate. Soon the table was completely covered in plates and Lyra started to eat. Between bites she said, "Well, as promised. Here is my story."

"My power unlocked about three years ago. The day started out completely normal, I went to school, pretended to take notes… I had no idea what was coming. When I back from school my dad would always be waiting to greet me, but that day he wasn't. He wasn't anywhere in the house, so I went outside to look for him." Lyra trailed off and stared sadly at the cake in front of her.

After she hadn't said anything for a while, I prompted her. "And?"

"I found him."

"Was he okay?" I wondered anxiously.

"He was really badly injured. But I'm a light mage, so when my power unlocked it healed him." Lyra answered. "But at the time I didn't realize that. You see, when my power unlocked people immediately grabbed me and brought me to their base to wait for the MAGE bus. I later discovered that the people who attacked him were from Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket? Why did they attack your dad?" I had heard of Team Rocket, they were notorious among mages and non-mages. Mage rebels were groups that fought against the oppression of the non-mages. Most of these groups were non-violent. Team Rocket was one of the exceptions.

"Team Rocket isn't making much headway on their war against the non-mages, and they were having just as little luck back then. They weren't getting enough mages willing to actually fight against the non-mages. So to make mages more…accepting of their ideals, they set out attacking possible mages' parents while masquerading as non-mages. They hoped that the new mages would be fooled into thinking that their parents were attacked by non-mages, and thus be more willing to wage war against them. That's why there were so many new mages last year; Team Rocket put their plan into effect on a larger scale. And it worked."

"Well, obviously the most important part didn't, you don't seem to hate non-mages."

"Before you got here it was discovered that Team Rocket was actually the ones responsible for the attacks. Once this was uncovered, the people who were angry at non-mages redirected their anger at Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket really is horrible."

"Yeah…"

"Wait, how did you find out that your dad was okay?" I asked. "We're not allowed to contact the outside world."

"Ah! Well that's another story, but since I still have half of my cakes left, I'll tell you that one too," Lyra replied. "This takes place right after I arrived here…"

* * *

><p>FLASHBACK<p>

Lyra POV

I hadn't talked to any of the other people in my dorm yet. I was too worried about my dad to make small talk. What if no one helped him? What if he was still lying there in the woods, in pain? I lay on my bad staring blankly at the ceiling not even stirring whin I heard a gentle knocking at my door. "Lyra?" came a quiet voice outside my door. When I didn't answer again she opened the door. "What's wrong?" she asked entreatingly. "You haven't come downstairs since we got here. Come on, we want to be your friends, why don't you just tell us what's wrong."

I looked at her; I thought I remembered her saying that her name was Maylene. I decided that nothing would get better by refusing to say anything, so I told her. "It's my father, he…he was attacked right before I came here. I don't know if he's okay," I responded.

"I'm sure he's okay," Maylene replied trying to be comforting. I appreciated the gesture, but that's all it was, a gesture. I was still no closer to actually knowing if he was okay. Maylene looked a bit conflicted, as if she was deciding whether she should stay or go, but the part that wanted to leave won and she left my room, closing the door silently behind her. I was alone in the darkness of my room again.

A few hours later someone else came in my room. He didn't bother to knock or announce their presence, he just barged right in. I flicked my eyes towards the person in my room. He exuded a threatening aura and had long, bright red hair. He flung something at me that I caught automatically. It was a cell phone. I stared at the kid incredulous. "How did you get a cell phone?"

He shrugged. "Call your dad," he commanded.

I nodded and hurriedly dialed my home number. The phone rang. No answer. The phone rang again. No answer. My anxiety was growing, but on the third ring, my dad picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked. I gasped. "Hello?" I hung up. I couldn't talk to him, we'd get in trouble, so I hung up. Tears started forming in my eyes.

I looked at Silver (Though I didn't actually know what his name was at the time) "He's alive," I whispered.

He looked at me with a why-should-I-care expression on his face and held his hand out for the phone. I gave it back to him and he walked out.

* * *

><p>Present Time<p>

Crystal POV

"…And that was the beginning of my crush on Silver," Lyra finished.

"When did we start talking about Silver?" I wondered.

"Huh? Oh haha sorry, I always get a bit carried away when I think about that time," Lyra laughed.

"I feel a bit guilty now; you told me so much about your life and all I told you was about how my soccer team was disbanded."

Lyra, who had finished all the cakes (how did she eat that much? She's skinnier than me and I could never eat all of those), answered. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for listening. Most people either interrupt me or tell me to stop talking." Lyra looked over at Silver and Blue's table. "It looks like Silver is leaving, so I'm going to go follow him!" she announced and then took off after him. I sat at the table for a few seconds, confused, then got up and headed out of the café. I ran into Blue, who was heading out as well.

"Hey Crystal!" she greeted jubilantly. "Did you and Lyra have a good talk?"

"Yeah, she's nice," I replied. "Did you and Silver catch up?"

"Ohohoho, Silver is the same as always. So easy for me to manipulate…" she trailed off and appeared to be scheming. Wow…Blue isn't above manipulating anyone, not even someone she sees as her brother.

* * *

><p>Somewhere on Campus<p>

Yellow POV

"ChuChu, I thought you knew the way," I said exasperatedly to my familiar. It was an hour or so since we had left Blue and Silver, but we still hadn't made it back to the dorm.

"I _do _know the way," ChuChu retorted.

"It didn't take Blue and I an hour to find Silver, so why has it taken us over an hour to get back?"

"…Okay, so maybe I don't have the way _completely _memorized. But I know the general direction we're supposed to be going!"

I sighed and continued to follow ChuChu. I had no idea where we were, so following her was really my only choice. Somehow we ended up in one of the forested areas of campus. "ChuChu…Where are we?"

"Um…We're uh…close to the dorms…probably."

"You have no idea where we are, do you ChuChu?"

"…Okay! I admit it; I have absolutely noidea where we are!"

"Great, now we're lost in a forest." I sighed and sat heavily on one of the tree stumps littering the area. I took note of my surroundings for the first time in a while. We were in a grove beside a lake which was filled with crystal blue water which created a pleasant bubbling sound as it tumbled over rocks that got in its way. The mossy tree stump I was sitting on was near the edge of the lake and was shaded by the vibrant green willow trees that surrounded the lake. "At least it's a pretty forest," I commented.

ChuChu nodded. "At least I know how to get lost in pretty places."

"Yeah, that's a special talent alright," I muttered sarcastically. ChuChu sent me a dirty look. I ignored her and walked over to the edge of the lake. "It feels so magical here."

"Well, it _is _a magic school," ChuChu retorted.

I lay down on the mossy ground, feeling the damp ground soaking into my uniform. I'm not sure how long I laid there on the ground with ChuChu curled up next to my head. Time seemed to pass slowly there. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something special about this place, I just knew there was. "ChuChu?" I ventured

"Yeah?" she answered.

"Do you know what's so special about this place?"

"No idea. But whatever it is, it's wonderful." I agreed full heartedly with ChuChu's statement. I felt the edges of my mind blurring and my eyelids getting heavy. Soon both ChuChu and I were both fast asleep, curled up on the bank of the lake.

* * *

><p>(Still Yellow POV)<p>

I was standing in a circular room with white walls. The only object in the room was a large, wooden, round table. I heard a door open and looked up. The door was painted the same color as the walls, so it was virtually invisible when closed. I saw people filing into the room. The man in the lead had spiked red hair and was wearing a black cape. When I saw the black cape I realized where I was. This was the council room, the place where the champions met to discuss politics.

The government of our world was split in two, the mage government and the non-mage government. The dominant ruling government was the non-mage council. The mage government was made up of four different councils, one for each country (Except for Kanto and Johto, they had a combined council). There were four main members of each council; these people were commonly referred to as the Elite Four. In addition to the Elite Four each council has a fifth member commonly referred to as the Champion. The Champion is the liaison between their respective mage council and the non-mage government. They were really the only way mages had of getting their opinions heard by non-mages.

Three people followed the first man into the room. I recognized the first person who entered as being Lance, the Champion of Kanto and Johto. The second person who had entered the room looked younger than the first and had silver hair; I knew him to be Steven Stone, Champion of the Hoenn region. The third person was the only woman in the room. She had the same hair color as me, and chose her spot at the table. This woman was Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh. The last person in the room was the oldest; his name was Alder, Champion of Unova. The four all stood around the table (there were no chairs) and began to talk.

I had by this point, realized that they couldn't see me as no one had reacted to my presence in a maximum security area. I had a theory about what was going on, and to test it I walked towards the table that dominated the room. When I rested my hand on it, it went straight through. I wasn't really here, but was this a dream or was it something real? The voice of Lance tore me from my thoughts.

"We have gathered here to talk about the threat that Team Galactic poses." Lance's rich voice echoed throughout the chamber. Team Galactic, who are they?

"Do we know what their plans are yet?" asked Cynthia.

"Yes," responded Steven. "We recently found out that their goal is-" I never got to hear what he was going to say. The room disappeared from around me and I felt my mind rushing back towards the glade.

* * *

><p>"Yellow?" the voice bounced around in my head. It seemed familiar, but I was too groggy to place it. I tried to go back to sleep, I wanted to know what Steven was going to say, but the voice sounded again pulling me from my dream entirely. "Yellow?"<p>

I opened my eyes to see Red leaning over me. I blinked, than squeaked and sat up quickly. "Red? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Yellow, it's nine o'clock." I looked around me to judge the truth of his statement. The sky had turned dark and now the only light was coming from the large silver moon in the sky. I must have been asleep for quite a while. "I came to look for you when you still weren't back to the dorm yet."

I laughed sheepishly. "Thanks Red. Do you know the way back? ChuChu and I got completely lost."

Red laughed. "I figured you did, come on it's this way." I picked up ChuChu, who was somehow still asleep despite the commotion, and quickly followed Red. We were back to the dorm in a few minutes; really I don't know how ChuChu and I missed it. Red and I entered the living room, where we found Sapphire sprawled on one of the couches watching Gold play some sort of video game. I greeted them, but they must have been too into the game to notice because they didn't respond.

"Thanks again Red," I said. "I'm going to go get cleaned up now." Now that I was more awake I was acutely aware of the fact that my uniform was covered in dirt and moss and my hair was wet from the dew.

"Good night Yellow," said Red.

* * *

><p>I went up the stairs and entered my room. I wanted to take a shower, but I felt like my dream was important, so I fished through the top drawer of my desk and pulled out a notepad and some paper. I quickly wrote down my dream in as much detail as possible then opened the second drawer of my desk. I wanted to find a book on divination. I didn't think I could stand waiting until Wednesday, which was when my first divination class was. I found a book titled <em>The Basics of Magic, <em>and I figured that it must have a section of divination in it, so I pulled it out of my drawer set it on my desk. I quickly found the divination section and began reading.

_Divination is the discipline of magic where a mage sees things that are  
>happening either somewhere else in the present, took place in the<br>past or will take place in the future. Divination is the most difficult  
>and the most unreliable discipline of magic. Seeing the future is the most<br>difficult of the three facets of divination, only the greatest of mages of  
>types the most suited to future seeing (psychic and water) are able to see<br>the future with any real clarity. Seeing the present is the easiest of the three  
>although seeing the past is still quite common. It is the easiest for a mage to<br>'see' something when their mind is entirely blank; this is most easily  
>achieved when asleep. Therefore, most armature diviners fall asleep in<br>order to see something. _

So, my dream was probably a vision of something happening in the present. That still doesn't help me know what Team Galactic is. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Even though I had just taken quite a long nap in the glade earlier I didn't feel rested at all. Using Divination powers used up a person's power, so really I hadn't actually gotten any rest. There would be plenty of time to think about Team Galactic tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook:<em>

The Creation Discipline:

There are two types of Creation. The first is called Direct Creation. This is where a mage creates their element out of nothing but their own power, the downside to this method is that mage gets tired extremely quickly. The second type is called Replication. This is where the mage starts out with some of their element and copies it. This uses about half the energy that Direct Creation does as the mage is simply duplicating what already exists instead of forming something. Because this type is so much easier than Direct Creation, it is common for mages to carry some of their element around with them at all times.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**In case you haven't noticed by now, pretty much every random character that I need that isn't a bus driver or receptionist is going to be a gym leader. Oh and Blue's teacher that she mentioned last chapter that 'kept talking about the beauty of water' was supposed to be Wallace.**


	4. Of Visions, Challenges, and Magic Rooms

**Author Note:**

**Thank you reviewers and the people who favorited.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Of Visions, Challenges, and Magic Doors<p>

**3:30am **

Platina POV

Fire. Pain. Intense feelings burned through my mind in a tornado of sensation. Just like every other night I've had for the past few weeks. I tried vainly to keep the memory of my dream alive as I awoke, but it slipped away from me. What I was seeing in my dreams was important, I knew it was, but I could never understand _what _I was seeing, and after I woke up, even the vague images faded from my mind. I sighed and checked the clock sitting on my bedside table. 3:30. I got up anyway, no way I could sleep after having a dream like that, and pulled my purple, fuzzy robe on over my nightdress. I quietly – so as not to disturb anyone else – made my way downstairs in search of a warm drink. There was a light coming from the living room, but it was dull, not artificial and grating like the normal overhead lights. This tipped me of as to what (or rather _who _) the light was coming from, and my suspicions were soon confirmed as I entered the room and encountered Lyra who was standing in the middle of the room with a small sphere of pale light floating above her right hand.

"Ms. Berlitz!" she exclaimed upon seeing me (I hadn't told anyone my first name – my father always said that you can't trust commoners – and I wouldn't have told them my last name either, but it was written on my door). "What are you doing up so late?"

"Why are you?" I retorted.

Lyra simply sighed at my avoidance and didn't bother to answer my question; after all, we had been through this exact same scenario so many times in the past few weeks, that we both had the lines memorized. I was actually slightly surprised at her lack of response to my question, her usual line was "I can't very well practice creating light when I'm surrounded by it right?" I figured she must be bother by something for her usually routine to be interrupted, but I'm not one to butt into peoples' personal business, so I ignored her odd mood. The ironic thing is, if I had been nosier, maybe some of the things that happened later could have been avoided.

I passed by Lyra and continued on my original quest, which was to find something warm to drink. I found my tea bags in their usual place in the cabinet above the counter and started pouring water to make my tea. I found that after having one of my horrific dreams, tea would help to calm me down again. After my tea was ready, I heard soft footfalls on the linoleum floor of the kitchen and noticed that Lyra had joined me, the light ball that had been in her hand now floating above her head like a beacon. "Would you mind if I had some tea too?" Lyra asked.

I handed her the jar of tea bags in response. She mumbled a thank you and set about making her own tea. We sat in companionable silence for a while, sipping our tea. After an hour or so had gone by, I retreated back to my room to get ready for the day. When I went back down the stairs (at 8:00) Pearl and Silver had joined Lyra in the living room.

"Missy, good morning!" Pearl exclaimed.

Dia stumbled down the stairs a bit later and headed immediately for the kitchen. Pearl chased after him while berating him for eating too much. Lyra and Silver were sitting silently on one of the couches and I sat on the one across from them. This was a normal morning in our dorm; except for the waking up at 3:30 thing, though that was quickly becoming normal too. A few minutes later Pearl and Dia (who was holding a loaf of bread) came back out of the kitchen.

"Good morning everyone!" yelled Skyla as she skipped down the stairs. She was a Level 4 air mage, so she and Pearl were in the same specialized class. I didn't know her very well though.

"Morning Skyla," responded Pearl.

"Are you ready to jump off a building?" queried Skyla. I stared at her. I hope I heard that wrong.

"Sure am!" Pearl replied enthusiastically.

"Pearl, isn't that dangerous?" Dia ventured.

"Winona will make sure we don't die," Skyla responded confidently. I hope she was right for their sakes.

"Missy, Dia, let's go to class," Pearl suggested. Dia and I both nodded and the three of us left the rest of our housemates chatting in the kitchen.

* * *

><p><strong>9:00am<strong>

Level 1 Class, Section B:

Black POV

This sucks. Why did I break that computer? I actually felt a bit bad about it at first, but now, White is making me her slave! I have to carry her books and help her with her homework (we don't actually have any, but if we get some I'm sure that she'll make me do it!). Stupid BW agency. "Hi Dia, Pearl, Missy," White greeted from beside me. I looked up and saw that the three had indeed walked in the door and were seating themselves.

They greeted White and I and I waved at them half-heartedly. White instantly began talking about her new talent agency and how excited she was. I tuned her out – I really didn't want to think about that now. Professor Lenora walked in and started explaining about the Creation Discipline, but I ignored her, I was too tired to pretend like I didn't know all of this already. I didn't feel bad, because not many other people were taking notes. Missy and Pearl were, but Dia was too busy eating a large sandwich. White was writing so I thought she was taking notes, but when I glanced at her paper it was a list of items she needed for her talent agency. I guess people really don't take these classes seriously.

* * *

><p>Lenora's lecture was over and we still had a bit of time before our specialized classes. White was enthusing about her new talent agency…again.<p>

"I still need members for it though," she was saying.

"Why don't you let Pearl and I join?" Dia suggested.

"Yeah, we have an awesome comedy routine!" Pearl added.

They both grinned hopefully at White, who nervously replied. "I wasn't really going to have a comedy act. I was thinking more like, Missy!" she pointed at her.

"You want me in your talent agency?" Missy asked.

"Yeah, you have grace, poise, and you exude an aura of regality. In short, you're perfect!" White exclaimed.

Missy shook her head. "I don't really think I'd be any good at acting."

"Please join," White begged.

Missy seemed to consider for a while, then she offered, "I'll join if you let Dia and Pearl join as well."

White's eyes flicked to Dia and Pearl, who were both looking at her entreatingly, finally she said resignedly, "Fine, all three of you can join."

Dia and Pearl high-fived and talked about how they needed to practice their comedy routine. I left after noticing that the next class was about to start hurrying out the door before White could order me to do something else for her.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00am<strong>

Air Specialized Class:

Pearl POV

I got to class just in time to avoid a scolding by Winona. She was really strict about being on time for things, but she was actually pretty laid back about most other rules. "Is everyone ready to practice?" she asked the class. Skyla nodded vigorously, but most people were either too apathetic or too terrified to respond to her query. "Great! Let's go," she exclaimed ignoring the fact that no one other than Skyla had answered her question. Winona breezed out of the room and we all followed her. She led us through the winding hallways to the staircase which led to the roof.

"This is exciting," Skyla whispered to me.

"Haven't you already done this before?" I asked. Skyla's power unlocked when she was 15, so she had been here for two years. Since the classes were made up of all levels they did the same thing each year, so she must have done this exercise before to.

"Of course, but it's still exciting, no matter how many times you do it!"

I actually _was_ kind of excited. I had a habit of jumping off high things if it would get me to my destination faster and to think that with my magic I would be able to do this and _not _get injured was exhilarating. After walking up a few flights of stairs we made it to the roof. Winona walked over to the edge of the roof and motioned for us to follow suit. I walked over to the edge with no fear; I had climbed more high things in my 14 year old life than most people did in their entire lives. "Now class, remember, you have to focus on feeling the wind lifting you up and preventing you from falling. Focus and it will obey you. But remember to do it gracefully!" Winona proceeded to demonstrate her mastery of air magic. She fell backwards off the edge, but she fell at a much slower speed than normal, and sometimes she would stop falling completely. She spun and flipped in the air and then stylishly landed on her feet. "You're turn!" she called up to us.

Skyla jumped down before anyone else had even considered it, screaming the whole way down about how much she loved flying. Her flight was much shorter than Winona's though I think that this was from her own choice, not because of an inability to fall more slowly.

The rest of the class was either too unmotivated or too nervous to jump, so I followed Skyla's lead and leaped off the building. I focused on feeling the air around me lifting me, and it did. I could feel the air wrapping me in its embrace, protecting me from the force of gravity dragging me towards the Earth. I wasn't very prepared for the landing though and ended up sprawled on the grass next to Winona and Skyla.

"Good job for your first time," Winona complimented. I thanked her and Skyla helped me up. I agree with her, air really is the best element.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00am<strong>

Fire Specialized Class:

Green POV

Our teacher was some old man who was rambling about the ferocity of fire. I didn't bother to listen. My grandfather studied mages and had taught me about magic when I was younger, so the old man up front wasn't going to be much help to me anyway. Unfortunately this left me with nothing to distract me from Gold, who was flinging pieces of paper at me. After a few hours of this I was ready to go to war with Gold. And I was going to win.

* * *

><p><strong>1:00pm<strong>

After class Gold and I left class and headed straight for our dorm. "Gold," I stated. Once I was sure that I had his full attention I continued. "Let's have a contest. I win, and you have to stop bothering me. You win and I won't make you shut up anymore."

"Challenge accepted!" yelled Gold before I had even finished outlining my terms. I _have _to win. I can't deal with him anymore.

"Ooo, a challenge," remarked Blue. She was sitting on the couch staring at us, I must have been too caught up in confronting Gold to notice her. "You need a mediator right? Someone to declare a winner and decide what the contest will be. I mean if one of you invents the contest it will be biased."

"She has a point," admitted Gold. "I think she should be mediator."

I sighed, I didn't want the pesky girl to be involved (after all she had it out for me too) but I didn't see any other choice. "Fine," I conceded. Blue sprang up from the couch and sprinted upstairs while giggling gleefully. A few minutes later she returned, but her hair was now in a ponytail, there was a yellow whistle hanging around her neck and she was carrying a pad of paper and a pen. I guess she actually _is_ taking this seriously.

"Okay!" Blue exclaimed. "Your challenge is toooooo." She let the 'to' drag on for quite a while. "Make a loaf of bread." Bread? Maybe she's _not_ taking this seriously. "I will grade you based on how long it takes you and how delicious it is. Now…GO!" Gold and I stared at her for a second before what she said kicked in. Then we both sprinted towards the kitchen. Bread, how do you make bread? I still hadn't explored the kitchen, so I didn't know where anything was yet. Luckily Gold was had the same problem, considering the way he was randomly opening cabinets. Eventually I found a recipe book with a type of bread listed in it. I began gathering ingredients.

A long while later, I got to the part where I had to bake the bread; I peered at Gold's and saw that he was still a few steps behind me, good. Maybe I could win this. I scanned the instructions for the baking time, two hours. That's way too long. I opted for using my magic. I _am _a fire mage after all. I raised my hand above the bowl and concentrated on heating the contents. I was careful to keep my thoughts focused only on heat though, if my thoughts strayed to flames, then the entire bowl could catch on fire, and that would ruin all the hard work I had put into this. My hand soon began to radiate heat and I saw the bread begin to cook.

Gold, who had just arrived at the baking stage, observed my method and tried to copy, but he didn't have as great a control on his magic. When he reached inside himself for heat, he got flames. A fiery vortex shot out of his hand incinerating the bowl containing his dough. I heard a shrill whistle and caught a glimpse of Blue, with her whistle in her mouth, dashing towards the fire. She turned on the tap as she passed and then started making hand gestures. The water in the tap stopped flowing straight downwards and began to flow towards the flames. Once a substantial amount of water was floating above the fire, Blue put her hands down and it fell, completely dousing the flames. "Oops." Really Gold? Oops is all you have to say?

* * *

><p>"Okay," said Blue. "It's time for the judging." We had vacated the kitchen (it still smelled like burned bread in there) for the living room. We all sat around the coffee table, upon which Gold and my breads were sitting. My bread actually looked quite nice, maybe I was a better cook than I thought. Gold's was a black mass melted to a blackened dish. I didn't think it qualified as bread anymore, but Blue was determined to judge both of them. Blue cut a slice of both and put them on her plate, though she had had to hack for a while to get any of Gold's to come off the pan. She tried Gold's first, and I was actually slightly impressed. I wouldn't be able to make myself eat that. She made a disgusted face. "Gold's gets a 0."<p>

"Out of what?" Gold asked anxiously.

"Does it matter, zero is obviously the worst," I snapped.

"It could be a negative scale."

"Now for Green's bread." Blue ate a bite of my bread and then grudgingly said, "Green wins. Darn I was hoping Gold would win. Gold! Why are you a failure?"

"I'm not a failure!" Gold yelled back. "NOOO! Why? I was supposed to win and be as loud as I wanted." Then he started crying. I'm fairly certain they were fake tears…I hope they were anyway.

"What are you guys doing?" wondered Black. He appeared disturbed, I don't blame him though. Seeing Gold crying, Blue and I watching and a weird black mass sitting on the table must have looked strange.

"Just a bet gone wrong," replied Blue.

* * *

><p><strong>3:00pm<strong>

It had been a while since the bread debacle now, and we had cleaned up…or tried to anyway. The pan Gold had used was beyond saving. Now we (Blue, Black, Gold and I) were sitting in the living room watching something. I didn't bother to ask what it was.

"Hey when did that get there?" Black questioned gesturing at a door next to the girls' staircase. There were only two doors attached to the living room, one leading outside and one leading to the kitchen. The door Black was pointing at was neither of those.

"That wasn't here yesterday," I said.

"What do you think it is?" Gold queried.

"I know what it is, it's a magic room," Black informed.

"Huh?"

At Gold's lack of understanding Black explained more. "It's a bespelled door. It leads to dark space, so essentially it leads to nothing. The annoying thing about magic doors is that they are easy to enter, but once you go in, you can't leave until you follow whatever command the creator put on it."

"How did it get here?" I asked.

"Someone must've put it here," Black replied. "It takes quite a bit of skill to make, but once it's made, anyone can set them up. I think they sell them in town actually." My eyes shifted automatically to Blue, who was looking _way _too innocent. She did it. I don't know how, but it was her. Pesky girl.

"I think we should put Gold in as punishment!" Blue said.

"Punishment for what?" Gold asked

"For not winning!" Ugh. I'm going upstairs where it's less noisy.

* * *

><p><strong>10:40am<strong>

Sapphire POV

I woke up and checked the clock, 10:40? I was late for my first class! I hurriedly got dressed in the hope that I could make my second class, I wasn't very hopeful though, they started at 11:00 and I wasn't ready at all. I rushed down the stairs and ran into Ruby, who happened to be walking past the staircase at the same time. I landed painfully on top of him and I heard him groan. "Ow," I whined.

"_You _landed on top of _me, _I should be the one saying that!" he snapped back. I realized I was still laying on him and leapt backwards. I thought I would hit the wall, but I kept falling backwards. This is not my day. I landed in a place that was completely dark. I couldn't see the living room anymore and I didn't know where I was. This room was _not _here yesterday. "Sapphire?" Ruby called out. I heard a thud and guessed that he had fallen in as well. "What is this?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know," I replied. "I can't see anything."

I heard a sound like a door knob being turned. "The door won't open," Ruby informed.

"What door?"

"The one we went through, did you not see it?"

"I was falling backwards, how would I have seen it?"

I stood and stomped over to the supposed door. I felt around and found the handle. I jiggled it, trying to get the door to open, but to no avail. So I started to kick it. The violence I unleashed on the door increased from there but it still refused to move. After a few minutes of wailing on the door I gave up and sat down. It was weird, there weren't really walls, but the darkness was solid. It was actually quite comfortable, the walls and floor were squishy, not hard and stiff.

We sat in silence (because every time we talked I ended up trying to beat him up) for a few hours (or it felt like hours anyway, I don't know how much time actually passed) and then I heard a _thud. _"What was that?" I asked nervously.

"I don't know," Ruby replied, sounding freaked out too.

There was a second thud and I jumped. Ruby had sprung up as well and we collided in the middle of the room…again. We ended up on the floor clinging to each other as the thudding increased. The door flew open and it was light again.

"Huh?" I was totally confused.

"Ruby, Sapphire, what are you doing in there?" Black was sitting on the couch staring at us.

Ruby and I both ran for the living room. "Phew, we're safe!" I yelled jubilantly.

"I don't want to repeat that experience," Ruby stated.

"Why not?" questioned Blue. "It looked like you too got closer." She started cackling maniacally.

"What's up with her?" I wondered.

"She put that room there," Green answered.

"You can't prove that!" Blue refuted. I was definitely with Green on this one. Blue seemed suspicious.

"What was that dingy room anyway?" Ruby asked.

Black explained to us about magic rooms. Whoever invented them was messed up. I bet it was one of Blue's ancestors.

"So what was the requirement for that one?" Ruby wondered.

"You had to embrace," Black informed.

"WE DIDN'T _EMBRACE!" _Ruby and I shouted in sync.

"We just ran into each other!" I finished.

Blue chortled. "That's not what it looked like to me," she said gleefully. I stormed off to my room. Stupid Blue, I'd never hug _Ruby, _stupid sissy boy.

* * *

><p><strong>12:00pm<strong>

Platina POV

White and I had made plans to meet up after specialized class in the courtyard for me to get the paperwork to officially make Dia, Pearl, and I members of the BW agency. I arrived first and waited for White. I didn't have to wait long before White showed up. "Sorry if you waited long," she said. "Fantina kept asking me where Ruby was." I didn't know who Ruby was and I didn't really care either, so I didn't ask. "Come on, our dorm is this way." White led me to a dorm that, unsurprisingly, looked exactly the same as mine. "Wait here." White commanded as she ran up the stairs. There were two other people in the room, I didn't recognize either of them.

One of them stood and walked over to me. "I'm Crystal," she stated holding her hand out to me. I was uncomfortable with commoner greetings, but Dia said it was rude to refuse, so I shook her hand, if a bit hesitantly.

The other girl in the room came over to me as well. "Nice to meet you, I'm Yellow," she introduced politely. I shook her hand as well, and at the moment of contact, I felt a mental connection. Usually I don't see into peoples' minds unless I'm trying to and making physical contact, and even than it is difficult. But when I touched her hand my magic made a connection without me trying to. It was the usual blur of emotions, colors and memories which I obtained from a mental connection, but there was one outstanding phrase. Usually I forgot everything from a mental connection unless I was trying to remember it, but this name burned itself into my mind. Team Galactic. I had heard their name before, in my prophetic dreams. I didn't think much of it then, but for this girl to know of them too…

"Have you heard of Team Galactic?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded. "I-I saw people talking about them…In a vision. Do you know anything about them?"

"I've seen them as well, I'm a psychic mage. But I don't know anything about them."

"You're a psychic mage? I should take you to that place!" she suggested excitedly.

"What place?"

"The place where I had my vision, there was something special about that place. I think I only had the vision because I was there anyway. Maybe being there would help you see better." I contemplated her suggestion while waiting for White to come down the stairs, which she soon did.

"Here you go," White said while handing me some contracts. I thanked her and put them in my pocket.

"I would like to see the place," I answered Yellow.

"Great!" Yellow enthused.

"I want to go to," interjected Crystal. "I don't know what you're talking about, but if it's dangerous I could be of help. A nature mage and a psychic mage aren't really forces to be reckoned with, but I'm a force mage. I can help if you run into any problems."

"What are you talking about?" asked a very confused White.

Should I tell them? Yellow made my decision for me. "You know when I got lost yesterday," she began. "Well I had a vision. I saw the council room for the Champions and they were all talking about Team Galactic. She's a psychic mage," she gestured at me and I realized that I had never told Yellow or Crystal what to call me, "So I think that she will be able to see more than I could if she goes there."

"Well I want to go too, you can't leave me out," whined White. "This sounds exciting, like a mystery novel!"

"Fine, let's all go," Crystal said peaceably. So the four (five if you count Yellow's familiar) of us set out, leaving the dorm behind.

* * *

><p><strong>12:30pm<strong>

It didn't take long for us to arrive at a beautiful glade. It really was one of the most stunning places I had ever seen, and I had visited many gorgeous sites in my life. I could feel what Yellow meant about the special power, there was just something intangible about this place that felt…right. Crystal seemed to notice it as well, but White didn't seem to have the same appreciation. "Did anyone bring a blanket?" I asked.

They all looked at me oddly. I don't know why though. "Can't we just sit on the ground?" Crystal suggested.

"I can't sit on the ground. It's muddy."

"You can sit on my jacket," Yellow offered. She took off her black jacket and handed it to me. I took it and sat down. Crystal looked irritated, but I ignored her. I delved deep inside myself, reaching for the power that dwelled there. I tapped into it and allowed it to fill me and force everything else out of my head. Soon I was entirely consumed with the power and I directed it towards the question of Team Galactic. I soon felt my mind drifting away from my body, searching for answers.

* * *

><p>Council Room:<p>

"We need to address the threat of Team Galactic," Lance was saying as I entered the vision.

"I wouldn't classify Team Galactic as a _threat_," responded Cynthia. "More like an annoyance."

"You can't just ignore them, even if they are a relatively small group," Steven cautioned.

"I agree with Steven, we should deal with Team Galactic now, before they become more than just…an annoyance," Alder added.

"I agree as well," Lance replied. "We should deal with Team Galactic now, before they have the manpower to put their plan into motion. All in favor of destroying Team Galactic raise your hand." All four raised their hands. "Very well, Cynthia, please have the Sinnoh council deal with Team Galactic."

"Very well," Cynthia responded and she left the room.

* * *

><p>I opened my eyes, my trance over. Yellow was sitting by the lake talking to fish, Crystal was leaning against a tree keeping watch and White was staring at me. "Are you back?" she asked me.<p>

"Back from where?" I asked.

"Guys! She's back!" White exclaimed.

"We could hear," Crystal remarked. Yellow bid the fish farewell and wandered over to where I was seated.

"So?" White asked impatiently.

"Lance has ordered Team Galactic destroyed," I informed.

"Well that's good right?" White commented. "If they're destroyed then you don't have to worry about their plans."

"Why would you have a visions about people that were about to be annihilated?" Crystal wondered skeptically.

Yellow looked thoughtful then said, "Before I came here the first time I had just read an article about the Champions. Maybe it wasn't about Team Galactic at all, maybe I was seeing the Council room and they just happened to be talking about them."

"My visions were of destruction," I added. "I guess I was seeing the destruction _of_ Team Galactic, not destruction _by_ them." With that mystery solved I felt much better. Hopefully now I would be able to sleep through the night without being plagued by visions of destruction.

Unfortunately, we came to the wrong conclusions that day and the whole world would pay the price for our mistake.

* * *

><p>Side story: This is where Red was most of this chapter and last chapter:<p>

Takes Place last chapter, before Red finds Yellow sleeping

Red POV

"And now we're done with 5th grade. 6th grade was a bit of a turning point for me, I was finally in middle school! And I was determined to hang out with the cool crowd, not with the losers I was stuck with in elementary school…" My teacher (Professor Watson) was sitting on the desk at the front of the classroom regaling us with his _entire _life story. It had already been three hours and he was only to sixth grade. He looked pretty old so I was going to be here for a while…

10 hours later (About 8:30)

Finally! He finally let us leave (although he had to wake up a third of the class because they had fallen asleep around the eighth grade). Unfortunately he only made it up to the point where he became a mage, so he was going to be telling us the rest tomorrow. I guess I should be grateful he let us leave at all.

The Next Day:

"So then I entered MAGE! It was a bit different back then, than it is now! For example, I wasn't a teacher here yet." Obviously. "So I started Level one, nervous about my first day of classes…" Ugh, I'm going to copy the rest of the class and just sleep through this.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook:<em>

The Mage Wars:

There have been many mage wars, but there have only been three really major ones, and of those three the third is the most important one. The Third Mage War is what people are referring to when they simply say 'The Mage War' as it was the turning point in our society. It was after the Third Mage War that MAGE was started. The war made non-mages realize that things were not going to get better as they were, so once they won they created MAGE. They hoped that by creating an environment that was friendly to mages, the mages wouldn't grow dissatisfied and declare war on the non-mages again. MAGE has been in operation for over one hundred years now, and seems to be successful. There are still mage rebels, but the number of mages advocating their causes has decreased dramatically since the foundation of MAGE.

On a side note, the Mage Wars are also responsible for the development of a lot of the technology that we enjoy today. The non-mages, having no magic with which to fight the mages, made great technological advancements in order to win the wars. With the aid of these technologies the non-mages managed to win every Mage War. Many of these advancements were later adapted to non-war uses and have become some of the handy modern technology that we all take for granted.


	5. Accidental Dates and Old Friends

**Author Note:**

**Thank you reviewers and people who favorited! I had no homework, so I'm updating early! I may update again this weekend, who knows? (I certainly don't)**

**Writing like _this _is mind speech**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Accidental Dates, the Dojo, and Old friends<p>

**9:00am**

Crystal POV

It's been two days since we all got here, and I _still _haven't had a specialized class. I had received an e-mail this morning informing us that Professor Brawly was still surfing. Shouldn't he be tired of that by now? How did he get to be a teacher, being so irresponsible? Not that Clair is any better, she sent an e-mail this morning as well that said: 'No class today, I need to train so I can defeat my archrival! I was trying to practice by myself, since my teachers were obviously going to be no help, but I didn't have a place to practice. Since I'm a force mage, I usually end up destroying things and I really don't want to ruin all of my furniture just so I can get better control of my magic. Because of this, I decided to look around town for a place to train; surely others must have the same problem as me.

I hadn't checked my e-mail until after I was already dressed in my uniform and ready to go, so I just went to town as is. The uniform was comfortable anyway. The only part of town that I had really seen was main street, where the Café Lyra and I met at was, so I was wandering down one of the many side streets in the hopes of discovering a practice area.

I had walked through several side streets, but was still no closer to my goal when a voice called out to me. "Crys!" I identified the voice as belonging to Lyra. Although the nickname she used told me it was her before the voice did. Yesterday she had decided that Crystal was too long and started calling me Crys.

I turned around and my intuition was correct, "Hi," I greeted back.

"Isn't it great that Clair cancelled? Now we can shop instead of watching Silver and Clair fight. But, enough of that, what are you up to Crys?" she inquired.

"I was looking for somewhere to practice," I replied.

"Oh! Well the dojo would be perfect, come with me!" Lyra gave me little choice, as she had seized my arm and was yanking me down the street. A large building, which, surprisingly, was made of clay instead of brick, soon came into view. There were red letters on the front that read 'DOJO'. Lyra led me inside and I took in the interior. The building was quite normal, except for the giant waterfall in the center. I assumed it was being run by a water mage because I couldn't figure out any other way for it to be possible. However, the waterfall wasn't actually the strangest thing in the room. The strangest thing was the man sitting _under _the waterfall. He was a large man and the water didn't even seem to bother him.

We walked over to the large man sitting under the waterfall, but his eyes were closed, and I guess he couldn't hear us through the rushing water. "Chuck," Lyra said to the man. "Chuuuck!"

The man's eyes flicked open and he stared at us. "HELLO THERE!" he yelled. "Nice to meet you! I'm Chuck! And this is my dojo."

"I'm Crystal," I stated uncertainly.

"Chuck is a force mage too," Lyra informed me. "He lets people train here. Hey Chuck, Crystal here is a force mage."

"Really? It's always nice to meet a fellow force mage." He stood up and walked over to us, water droplets raining on the floor around him. "Come with me." He guided us to a room in the back which was full of punching bags and other objects that could be used for training. The room was quite spacious, but it looked mostly unused. I guess maybe other people _didn't _like to practice. "Not many people come here to practice, but you're welcome to visit whenever you want. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue my training." Chuck went back to the other room to sit under the waterfall some more. Or I assumed as much anyway, I wasn't interested enough to go check.

"See," commented Lyra. "This place is perfect to train in!" She grinned at me. But, something seemed slightly off. She was obviously trying to act like nothing was wrong, but something was different.

"Is anything wrong?" I queried, concerned. She looked surprised and quickly shook her head. Way too quickly in my opinion. But I respected her privacy, so I let the subject lie. Really that might have been a bad decision on my part in the grand scheme of things.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00am<strong>

Fire Class

Blue POV

"Um…Blue," Gold said hesitantly. "What are you doing here?" I suppose that was a fair question, Professor Wallace told us all to have fun today so I, naturally, decided to crash Green and Gold's class.

"I was afraid you'd catch something else on fire and I would have to be here to put it out," I replied instead of giving my real reason and grinning at him.

Green mumbled something that sounded like "Pesky." He really shouldn't have said that.

"Heeey Green," I called. He looked at me warily, as he should.

"What," he asked cautiously.

I grinned evilly and then stood up. "Professor Blaine," I whimpered pathetically. "I feel sick, I need Green to take me to the nurses' office."

"Very well, go on," Blaine replied, either not hearing or ignoring Green's incredulous "What?" and Gold's "Hey! I want to get out of class!"

I grabbed Green's arm and pretended to be leaning on it for support. I waved cheekily at Gold, who was sulking in the back of the room. He glared back at me.

"Why did you just get me out of class?" asked Green.

"Class is no fun!" I replied. "We should go explore the town. Exploring is fun!"

"You should have dragged Gold with you," Green responded and tried to go back into the classroom.

"Uh-uh Green, if you go back in everyone there will think that you abandoned a poor, innocent, sickly girl to crawl her way to the nurses' office by herself.

He stopped and I grinned internally. People are so easy to manipulate. I resumed my grip on his arm and continued our journey towards town.

"Hey, look, it's White and Ruby," I said. I was looking the illusion class and saw Ruby and White talking. Hmm…nah, I'll stick with messing with Green today, so I guess I'll leave them in peace for now. With that thought I once again resumed our journey to town.

* * *

><p>Illusion Class<p>

White POV

Fantina, our teacher, was talking about glorious illusions again and how you could trick people in battle. I didn't bother listening, it's not like I'd ever be in battle anyways. After a while she left us to our own devices. I looked over at Ruby and noticed that he was designing an outfit. "Wow! That's a really amazing design," I complimented.

"Thanks," he replied. "I enjoy designing outfits."

"That's cool," I responded.

"Most people don't think so," he said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a file. "These are some of my other designs, what do you think?"

I flipped through the file. They were amazing! I didn't think I'd ever meet a guy that good at designing women's clothes, especially not in _high school_. "These are amazing! You know what? You should work for me!" I offered suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You could be the official designer for the BW agency," I explained excitedly.

He considered for a while then replied, "Okay, I'll work for you. It'd be nice to have someone actually wear my designs." I jumped for joy and thanked him profusely. This was going to be great! My talent agency already had so much talent in it. I was especially glad Ruby was joining though; we had become pretty good friends the last few days. We were quite similar about a lot of things. However, Ruby still couldn't replace my two best friends. I would never see them again now. Thinking about it depressed me, so I distracted myself by checking the time.

I checked my watch, it was 12:00. "Sorry Ruby, I have to go meet up with Black, I'll get the contract to you later okay?" Ruby nodded and waved goodbye as I hurried out the door. I rushed down the hallway towards Black's class.

I finally caught sight of him, he was walking with someone, but I didn't bother to look at who it was. "Black!" I called out.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00am<strong>

Knowledge Class

Black POV

The specialized class for knowledge mages really wasn't very interesting. Our teacher, Professor Roxanne, would just give us a bunch of books and we'd read them. Since we all were able to understand everything immediately, there was no point in her wasting her time teaching her. We all remembered everything as well, so we didn't have to study either. So, basically, our class was just a bunch of kids sitting around reading books. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it. I was finally around people who liked to learn as much as I did, it was kind of relieving after the shallow school I had gone to in the non-mage world.

"Hey, are you finished with that book?" The boy next to me asked. I glanced at him. I hadn't had a conversation with any of the others in this class yet and was surprised that someone spoke to me, most seemed content to read in silence. The boy who spoke to me was wearing glasses and had black hair.

"Yes actually, do you want it?" I offered. He nodded and I passed the book to him.

"I'm Cheren by the way," he told me.

"I'm Black." We talked for a little after that, but we had to be quiet so as not to disturb the others. I was planning to meet White in the courtyard, but that was the way out anyway, so Cheren and I walked together towards the courtyard.

"Black!" White called out as she hurried down the hallway towards us.

"Hey boss!" I greeted. I had gotten in the habit of calling her boss since I was her employee now. She didn't seem to mind, actually it probably made her feel powerful.

"White?" Cheren asked. How did he know her name?

"Cheren?" White stated incredulous. How did _she _know _his _name? "It's so great to see you again!" White hugged him. Okay, I'm definitely missing something here.

"You two know each other?" I finally asked.

White let go of Cheren and answered me. "We're childhood friends, but I haven't seen him in, like, five years!"

"How is Bianca?" Cheren inquired.

"She was doing well last time I saw her," White replied. "She's probably lonely though, I mean, we've both left her now."

I was feeling extremely out of place. I had no idea who they were talking about. Bianca? Who was that?

"Cheren, how about we meet up later and talk, I have some things I need to do with Black now. It's for my talent agency," White suggested.

"You finally have your own talent agency? That's great. How about we go to A Taste of Magic Café? We could meet there at 3:00, how does that sound?"

"That's great! See you then," White responded then Cheren left White and me alone in the hallway. "Come on Black, let's go work. I hired Ruby to be the official costume designer." I sighed. It was always work with her.

* * *

><p><strong>12:00pm<strong>

Sapphire POV

I was feeling very lazy today, after all the excitement (read: Being stuck in a room with Ruby for hours) yesterday, I just felt like watching TV while lying on the couch. And, since all my classes were cancelled, that is exactly what I did. Unfortunately, my peace was soon interrupted by Ruby opening the door. "Don't come in!" I yelled.

"Why not?" he asked confused.

"Remember yesterday? I do _not _want to be alone in a room with you!"

"You fell into that room on your own, that wasn't my fault," Ruby retorted.

"I fell because I was trying to get away from you."

"I need to get to my room," Ruby stated, changing the subject.

"Fine…I'll go upstairs," I conceded and I turned off the TV and went upstairs.

"I'll be in my room," Ruby said as he walked into the room. I hurried up the stairs, I _really _didn't want a repeat of yesterday.

* * *

><p><strong>12:00am<strong>

Yellow POV

I was wandering through town, I hadn't been yet, the time I got lost ChuChu and I managed to avoid civilization completely. Although that may have been on purpose, because when I asked ChuChu if she wanted to explore with me she claimed that the town was too noisy and that she was going to the forest instead. I didn't mind, she'd come if I needed her anyway. I had just gotten to town, but I wanted to eat before I explored more. I looked around for restaurants and found a café called A Taste of Magic Café, the one that I heard about from Blue actually. I was about to enter when I heard a voice call my name.

"Hey Yellow!" It was Red. I hadn't seen him all yesterday; I guess I was too caught up in the whole Team Galactic thing.

"Red," I greeted. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, since my specialized teacher kept us in class until 8:00pm two days in a row he let us out early today. We're you going to eat?" 8:00pm? What were they doing in that class that could take that long? Then I remembered his question.

"Ah, yes, I was going to have lunch."

"So was I, want to eat together?"

"Sure," I replied smiling. We went into the café (Crystal was right…there _is _too much pink in this café) and found a table. Then it hit me. Red and I are alone…eating together. Isn't this a date? I started freaking out and didn't realize that Red had said something.

"Yellow, are you okay?" he asked.

My head snapped up. "Yes!" I assured. "I'm fine." And laughed awkwardly. I really need to work on my casual conversation skills.

"Where are you from Yellow?" Red inquired. "I'm from Pallet town."

I wasn't sure what brought his question on, but I answered anyway. "I'm from Viridian City, in Kanto."

"Oh, I've been there before. I visited when I was ten and got lost in Viridian Forest. I ended up getting directions from a boy who liked to play in the forest," he commented.

Wait a minute…I gave a boy who, now that I think about it, looks like a younger version of Red directions. He thought I was a boy? "Ha ha…really…" was all I said aloud. No way was I going to tell him that he mistook me for a boy, even if I was ten, that's way too embarrassing.

"Red, Yellow!" a voice shouted. We both turned and saw that Blue was the one who had called out. Uh-oh. She ran over to us. "Are you two on a –" Green clamped a hand over her mouth before she could finish and started to drag her away.

"Sorry to bother you," he commented and they left the café.

Red and I stared at where they had just been for little then tried to go back to the conversation. It was awkward for me though, I knew what Blue was going to say, after all I had just been thinking about it. "Red!" I said trying to distract myself.

"What?" he prompted.

"How did you end up here?" I blurted then covered my mouth when I realized how rude asking that was. But, to my relief, Red just laughed.

"I became Champion," he answered proudly. Champion? But Lance is the Champion.

"Of the Pokémon League," he finished, while pulling a deck of Pokémon cards out of his pocket. "This is my winning deck," he said, gazing at it lovingly.

"You became a mage…because you won a card game," I clarified, all thoughts of Blue and her statement gone from my mind.

"Yep, I was so excited I short-circuited all the TVs in the stadium." He was playing cards in a _stadium? _I didn't know people got so worked up about Pokémon cards… "Do you play?" he asked excitedly.

I shook my head. "My parents never let me have any," I replied a bit sadly. He looked thoughtful for a moment then flipped through his cards. "Here," he said, holding one of his cards out to me.

I took it. The picture on it was a small electric mouse and I read at the top 'Pikachu'. "But, this is one of your winning cards," I said. "I can't take this from you."

"I have two Pikachus anyway. Besides, everyone should have at least one Pokémon card. Now you do."

"Thank you," I replied. I stared at the card in my hangs. I was going to cherish this Pikachu.

* * *

><p><strong>12:10pm<strong>

Blue POV

We got to town and decided (well, _I _decided) that we would start with main street. I didn't see much of it the other day with Silver that was all business. We went straight for the café. Speaking of the café… "Green look!"

"What?" he asked.

"They're soooo cute!" I was referring to Red and Yellow, who were sitting in the very café I was just thinking of. "I think they're on a date!" I continued excitedly.

"It's none of our business, let's go somewhere else," Green replied.

"Nope!" I said and dashed into the café. "Red, Yellow!" I called.

"Blue?" Yellow asked nervously.

"Are you two on a – " before I could say 'date' Green clamped a hand over my mouth and sized my arm, dragged me away. He apologized to them as we left. "Noooo! Green, I wasn't done yet," I whined once he let go of my mouth.

"Leave them alone. Yellow has enough trouble functioning without you teasing her," he responded.

"Do you have a crush on Yellow or something?" I asked suspiciously, and, for some reason, with a twinge of sadness.

"Of course not!" Green refuted. "She's like a little kid, I just feel sorry for her with you dragging her around all the time."

"So do you like someone else?" I pried.

Green ignored me and walked off. Well that wasn't a no… I watched Green walking off and saw Lyra, Silver's friend, run into him. Oops.

* * *

><p>Town<p>

Lyra POV

"Sorry!" I apologized to the kid I just bumped into. He glared at me, so I ran off. I didn't want to end up the victim of a magic attack. I had left Crys in the dojo a little while ago and was just wandering around town now. I wasn't sure what I was going to do yet, but when I saw Gold, a plan formed in my head. I was worried about Crys working too hard, if anyone would get her to relax it would be the ultimate slacker. Sure I didn't know Gold very well, but everything I've seen him do so far was classic slacker behavior. I surreptitiously got into his line of sight hoping he would react. He did.

"Pigtail girl!" he yelled. Pigtail girl? Whatever, at least he recognized me.

"Ah, Gold, right?" I responded, acting surprised.

"Yeah, what cha' doin'" he asked.

"Well, I was hanging out with Crystal before, last I saw her she was at that dojo," I replied pointing extremely obviously at the dojo building.

"Really," he said. "I have to go somewhere, later!" and he dashed off in the direction of the dojo. Wow, that was fun! I smiled to myself, I just hope Crys doesn't find out that I was the one who led Gold to her.

* * *

><p>The Dojo<p>

Crystal POV

This place was spectacular! I was having a wonderful time practicing. Really being a force mage is fun, sure I can't control an element or read peoples' minds, but I can completely obliterate things if I want to. I had destroyed some bricks and boards and punched a hole through one of the punching bags. I definitely needed to work on my control, which is what I was doing when I heard a dreaded voice.

"Super serious gal!" I accidentally ruined another punching bag.

"What are you doing here Gold?" I demanded, holding up my fists threateningly.

"Just thought I'd keep you from being too serious, come on! Let's go explore!"

"I explored yesterday," I told him and turned back to my training. He grabbed my arm pulled me out of the practice room. "Let me go!" I ordered.

"Nope," he replied and continued on his path towards the exit with me in tow. "You're going to have fun today."

"I _was _having fun."

"That's not fun! I'll show you fun." Was it just me, or did that seem slightly ominous? And how did he find me in the first place, the only one who knew where I was was…Lyra!

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

"Hey Green," I said. I ran after him a few minutes after he stormed off, exploring by myself was nowhere near as fun as when I had Green with me to annoy.

"What?" he asked exasperated.

"Is that Gold dragging Crys into a casino?" I asked pointing at the scene.

"No," he replied.

"You're not even looking!"

"We're supposed to be finding a place to eat."

"Why don't we just eat at the café?" He groaned and muttered something like 'I thought you didn't _want _to eat there' and motioned for me to lead the way. I complied.

We were soon seated in the café and had extremely pink menus in our hands. Hah, Green looks ridiculous in here. "Hey!" I exclaimed. "This is the table that Yellow and Red were at."

Green gave me a look that said 'who cares?' I grinned at him, then realized that Green and I were in _exactly _the same situation that Red and Yellow were in. But this wasn't a date. I just liked to annoy him…right? I shifted my gaze to the other patrons to stop my disturbing thoughts. One particular patron caught my interest. "Isn't that White?" I asked.

Green looked over. "Yes." He really needs to talk more. But, why is White sitting at a table by herself?

* * *

><p><strong>2:50pm<strong>

A Taste of Magic Café

White POV

I was waiting at the A Taste of Magic Café for Cheren to get here. Cheren, Bianca and I had been best friends when we all lived in Nuvema town together. We were inseparable until about five years ago, when Cheren's family moved to Johto. Bianca and I kept in touch with Cheren through letters, but he stopped replying about a year ago. Bianca took that pretty hard, but I stuck with her. The two of us promised to be there for each other, but, well I came here. I hoped Bianca wasn't taking my absence to badly, but I knew she was. She was that kind of person. I really hope I did the right thing.

"Hello White I hope you haven't been waiting long," Cheren greeted.

"Not at all," I replied glad to be distracted from my gloomy thoughts. Cheren took the seat across from me.

"So how have you been White? I got here a year ago, so I didn't receive any letter you sent after that."

"I thought it was odd that you stopped replying all of a sudden. You didn't really miss much though," I informed with a laugh. "Our lives really weren't very interesting. The most interesting thing that's happened was coming here."

"How _did _you end up here?" asked Cheren.

"Uh… My boyfriend cheated on me." I felt horrible for lying to one of my best friends, but I really didn't have a choice. "Why did you decide to come?" I asked trying to change the subject as fast as possible. Cheren had told Bianca and me that he was a knowledge mage quite a while ago, as knowledge mages are actually born mages. Last I heard he wasn't interested in coming to MAGE though.

"I was a witness to a crime and I had to tell them that I was a mage for them to believe my testimony. Then I really didn't have any choice but to go to MAGE."

"Really, you witnessed a crime, how terrifying!"

"Not really, it was just a robbery, and they weren't armed or anything. The only reason it was so high profile was that they were stealing an influential man's computer."

"How were you in the position to witness _that_?" I wondered

"I…" Cheren hesitated. "I was doing his son's homework."

"…Cheren that's….That's pathetic. Why were you doing some rich kid's homework?"

"He found out that I was a knowledge mage and threatened to tell his parents if I didn't do his homework." Cheren sighed. "Of course in the end, I came here anyway. But, enough about me. I never knew that you had a boyfriend."

Darn, I was hoping that he had forgotten. "Yeah he um… His name was N." I mentally apologized to him, because this story was _not _going to make him look good. "We started going out last year, and I thought that he was the one…but I found him… with Elesa."

"That's horrible," Cheren commented. "And unexpected, N sounded nice from Bianca's letters."

"Yeah, well he had us fooled." I mentally begged for Cheren to change the subject and, much to my relief, he did. But I could tell that he wasn't completely happy with my story. I would have to hammer out the details. I decided to work on that later and spent the rest of the time enjoying the company of one of my best friends that I had been so sure I would never see again.

* * *

><p><strong>9:00pm<strong>

Crystal POV

"Gold! That was _not _fun!"

"What are you talking about? It was awesome!"

"Gambling is not fun!"

"Yes it is!"

"KEEP IT DOWN!"

"Sorry Green," we said in unison.

"Gold, starting tomorrow I'm fixing your gambling problem," I continued in a much quieter tone of voice.

"Awww stop being so serious all the time," Gold complained. "Today was way more fun than training right?"

"Wrong." Gold's idea of "fun" had been going to a casino and playing poker. Luckily he got distracted and didn't notice me not playing. No way was I going to gamble. And if I had my way, Gold soon wouldn't be gambling either.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00pm<strong>

Lyra POV

Today had been fun, talking with Crys and then sending Gold after her, but it still wasn't enough to completely occupy my mind. The question was in the back of my mind the whole time.

"What's up with you?" It was Silver, I hadn't even noticed him come down the stairs.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb," Silver retorted. "I know something's been up with you for the past few days, just tell me what's wrong already."

I was surprised Silver had even noticed that I was worried about something; I thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding my preoccupation. I guess I wasn't as good an actress as I though. "I just, I saw something weird," I told him.

"Well?" he asked impatiently when I didn't immediately continue.

"I saw a man sitting on the wall. You know the wall around MAGE? He was just sitting up there…watching us."

"Mages can't touch the wall because of the magic field," Silver mused. "So he must have been a non-mage. But he shouldn't have been able to find MAGE in the first place."

"That's what I've been worrying about, a non-mage sitting on the wall that _is_ something to worry about right? But when I told the authorities here, they didn't even care!"

"Well, all he can do _is_ siton the wall right? Only mages can actually enter." I nodded, but I was unconvinced. That man was trouble; there was a look in his eyes, something…desperate. I knew that he would start something horrible, but none of my imagined scenes even came close to the destruction he would wreak upon our world.

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown Time that Day<strong>

? POV

I sat in my usual location, the wall surrounding MAGE. No non-mage was supposed to know where the school was, but it was easy to find for a determined genius like me. I may have been a genius, but no amount of brain power could turn me into a mage. All the knowledge mages could do what I could, just because they were born like that. All those lucky mages in there. I hated when they whined about missing home, or being forced to be there. Don't they realize that I would give anything to be where they are now, inside the wall instead of atop of it? But there's no hope for me, I will never be a mage, I'm too old.

_Anything?_

What? What was that?

_You would do anything to be a mage?_

It was a voice, but it was in my head, it didn't actually make a sound. "Who are you?" I asked aloud.

_You don't have to speak aloud you know, _the voice responded. _I can hear you just fine. Now, would you really do anything to be a mage?_

_Yes_, I replied without hesitation.

_Very good. Then I have a proposal for you… _

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook:<em>

Protection Discipline

The Protection discipline is usually used in conjunction with either the Manipulation or Creation disciplines. The most common form of protection is shields. For elemental types, like water and air types, this involves forming their element into a physical shield which protects them. Mental types can't create physical shields, but they are able to create mental shields. These shields protect their minds from other mental types. Light mages are able to heal people, which is considered a form of the Protection discipline. Light mages are the only mages who are able to heal.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**? POV isn't actually based off of any character. He'll probably end up being an OC unless I or someone else thinks of someone that he should be. He's not really going to be all that important in the long run anyway. The voice in the head _is _a character from Pokespe though.**


	6. The Trials and Tribulations of PE Class

Chapter 6: The Trials and Tribulations of P.E. Class

**7:30am**

Yellow POV

Sadly, classes were not cancelled today. Today would have been the best day for classes to be cancelled because we had P.E. today. It was bad enough at my normal school, I can't even imagine how bad it will be _here. _I was up all night worrying about the class today and as a result, I was completely exhausted. I tried to rest a little by laying on the couch before meeting Blue, Red and Green to go to class. They all arrived at roughly the same time and looked much more chipper than I did. Blue was oddly silent this morning, but I chalked it up to it being so early in the morning. Normally, the first class starts at 9:00, but on P.E. days, class begins at 8:00. Lt. Surge hadn't told us where to go for class this morning, so we trudged up the staircase to our normal room. There we encountered a sign telling us to go to the gym that was on the otherside of campus. We all sighed in unison and began the long walk to the gym.

It was a lucky thing we left early, or we would have been late although, the other students _were_ late…so I guess it didn't actually matter. Most the teachers here are really lax about scheduling (not Lt. Surge though). The gym was just a large room. There weren't any markings on the floor for sports, there weren't any bleachers and there weren't any basketball goals or other supplies needed for normal games. It lacked the usual gym odor of sweat and exertion too, it just smelled…clean. This worried me more than if it _had _smelled like sweat, then at least it would have been slightly normal. But no, the gym was totally barren, except for the podium sitting atop a raised platform at one end of the gym. It was made of wood and there were wires coming from it, but I'm not technologically savvy enough to even guess what they were for.

P.E. class was made up of all the students in the school, which was actually only about one hundred and fifty people. None of the normal teachers were there (which I was thankful for, one of the things I was worrying about all night was having Lt. Surge as a P.E. teacher), instead there was only one teacher standing at a podium on the far side of the gym. He was mostly bald but he had two large white spikes of hair sticking out of either side of his head.

"Hey everyone!" He yelled, his voice echoed around us. So, one of the wires is for the PA system. "I'm Crasher Wake! Now get into teams of five people in your level!" Well, Red, Blue, Green and I is four, we need one more. I glanced around trying to find another member, but I couldn't tell who was in which level at all. I was about to ask Blue what we should do when a pink haired girl walked over to us."

"Hey guys! I'm Skyla," She announced.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Blue and mister antisocial over there is Green," Blue replied, pointed at Green when she said his name. Green looked irritated, but he didn't say anything to refute his new nickname. "And that is Red," she pointed at Red, who waved kindly. "And that's Yellow." She gestured to me and I smiled at her.

"Let's be in a team!" Skyla suggested. We needed another person, so we all nodded and Skyla joined our group.

"Okay," Crasher Wake shouted. "I assume you're all in teams now, so let's begin! Here are the rules: Don't die!" What? "Begin!"

As soon as the word left his mouth colorful rays of energy began flying at us from random directions. "What do we do?" Blue asked, sidestepping one of the rays and seeming completely at ease.

"We need to leave the gym," Skyla responded. We followed her, dodging bolts of energy along the way. Everyone was trying to leave at the same time and we got separated for a little while. I was crushed amongst all the bodies and couldn't control where I was going. Luckily, I wasn't hit while I couldn't move. I saw some of the taller people being hit, but I was so short that they couldn't reach me without hitting someone else first, and they dissolved upon impact. The crowd dispersed once we got outside and I was released from the group. I fell on the ground panting, but my respite wasn't to last. As soon as I had caught my breath I had to leap back to my feet to avoid another energy ray.

"Where are they coming from?" I asked confused.

"The gym, but they can sense magic and follow us wherever we go. We have to work together as a team to avoid the magic attacks until class is over. If you get hit you're out," Skyla explained.

"Why didn't he tell us that before we started?" Red wondered.

"To test your instincts." We all stared at her like she was insane, but she just shrugged. "That's what he told me when I asked him after my first time."

"He's insane, they're all insane," I panicked. As I said this, another barrage of energy bolts flew through the air towards our location. Skyla thrust her hands in front of her and I felt a breeze blow past me towards the energy. The wind hit them and they wavered, but they continued on their path towards us.

Skyla sighed. "Air magic really isn't good against things without mass," she explained. Green stepped up front and created a wave of fire, which he then sent after the energy rays. The fire enveloped the bolts and they dissipated in a colorful burst.

"Come on," he ordered. "We should get out of the open."

"Yeah," Skyla agreed. "The bolts come faster and more frequently as time passes."

This is completely insane.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00am<strong>

Gold POV

Waking up this early is insane; I do _not _want to be here. I'm only here because Super Serious gal threatened me. She can be really scary…

The lady with the really big blue hair told us to get in groups of five. I was standing with Super Serious gal, Pigtail gal, and Red-head guy, so that was four (Yes, I can add! I'm proud of myself), we needed one more.

"Hey Falkner!" Pigtail gal yelled out.

The guy that turned around had blue (wow…lots of people have blue hair at this school) that covered one of his eyes. He didn't respond, he just sent her a questioning look.

"Want to be our fifth?" Pigtail girl offered. Falkner shrugged then nodded. "That's Falkner, he's an air mage, so he shouldn't get in our way." She explained quietly to us.

"You were thinking something like that?" Super Serious gal asked incredulous. "I thought he was your friend or something."

"All I know about him is his name and mage type."

"Lyra is more devious than she looks," Red-head put in.

"I wasn't when I got here," Lyra defended. "But hanging around you for three years has taught me."

Falkner had finally made his way through the crowd to us. When Crys (I had adopted Pigtail gal's nickname for her) and I introduced ourselves he just stared at us silently. Alright, he is now Silent guy!

Silver stared at Falkner and said, "You can join, as long as you don't hold me back."

* * *

><p><strong>8:00am<strong>

Sapphire POV

"You better not hold me back!" I ordered Ruby as we searched for more team members. We had reluctantly joined the same group after deciding that it would be safe enough since we wouldn't be in a room alone. Besides, Ruby was the only person I knew in Level 2, other than that annoying blonde kid, but I didn't want _him _in our group..

"Just because I'm an illusion mage doesn't mean I'll be helpless," Ruby retorted.

"Hey guys," Emerald said stopping our argument. "I got these people for our group." I was just thinking about how I _didn't _want him in our group. But, we did need three more people, and he was offering. I guess we don't really have a choice…

"Fine," Ruby and I said in unison. We whirled around and glared at each other. "Don't copy me! Stop saying what I'm – gah!" We both stopped speaking so that we would stop saying the exact same thing and settled for glaring at each other.

"Are you two okay?" one of the random people Emerald gathered asked Ruby and I. "Fine," we both replied.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00am<strong>

Dia POV

"I'm fine," White told Black. He kept glancing at her worriedly, but he had a good reason. White was very pale and she was shaking. I guess she's worried about class. Although I don't know why she would be…Ha, just kidding, she _should _be worried about this class. I thought about having Pearl and I do one of our routines to cheer her up, but Black spoke again, disrupting my plan.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Black asked again.

"I'm just nervous okay?" White snapped. "Cheren told me about this class and it sounds dangerous."

"You mean dodging the energy bolts? You'll be fine, we have Dia," Black replied pointing at me. "Dia is a ground mage, he can create a good defense from the attacks." Not to brag, but he was right. My specialty was protection magic, and that was really all that you needed to excel at this class.

"How did you two know about this class?" Pearl wondered. "I had no idea what was happening the first time."

"Cheren told White," I reminded him.

"I read a book that explained the rules," Black answered. "Apparently they give our prizes every once in a while too."

"That is correct," Missy informed. "They give them out at random intervals so that students will try their best each time in the hopes of obtaining a reward." That's our Missy, so smart!

* * *

><p><strong>8:20am<strong>

Gold POV

Super Serious gal is really smart! This cave was the perfect place for this. The cave only has one small entrance, so Silver can sit there and destroy the energy waves with his dark magic before they can hit any of us. The greatest part is that I don't even have to do anything! Best P.E. class ever.

I was sitting with Silent guy and Pigtail gal, but I preferred the company of Super Serious gal, so I ventured into the cave to locate her. She had gone further in to make sure there wasn't a back entrance to the cave that the energy bolts could come in through. The further I went into the cave, the darker it got until it became completely dark and I couldn't see anything anymore. My hand trailed across the rocky wall and I shuffled forward slowly to avoid tripping over loose rocks. I wandered for quite a while, when I saw a pale light disrupting the complete darkness. I went towards it, like a moth to flame. The light gradually grew larger, and I could make out a person standing under it. Crys.

I tripped over a rock and Crys whirled around towards the noise. "Gold?" she called out.

"Yep, it's me!" I replied.

"You should have gotten Lyra to make you a light if you were going to come back here," she reprimanded.

"Lyra made that?" I asked pointing at the pale sphere that was illuminating Crys's surroundings.

"She _is _a light mage."

"She is?"

"You don't pay attention to anything, do you Gold?" I didn't hear her last question because I was too busy examining the cave walls. I heard Super Serious gal groan and then she walked off, taking the light with her.

"Hey, wait!" I shouted rushing after her. She stopped suddenly and I collided with her. We both lost balance and fell. I crashed into the rocky ground and dust got in my mouth. I spat it out. "Sorry," I apologized.

Crys groaned and sat up. "It was my fault for stopping to suddenly," she responded as she shook herself off. I stood as well and caught sight of what made her stop in the first place. There was a shrine cut into the rock. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like a box standing on its side, and at the back there was an intricate drawing. It must have worn away with time because the details were hard to make out, however; it appeared to be some sort of creature, but I had never seen anything like it before. At the bottom of the shrine, below the picture, there was an oddly shaped rock.

"What is that?" I asked Crys.

"It's a fossil, but I've never seen anything like this," she answered. She crouched in front of the shrine and gently lifted the fossil. She held it up to the light and studied it. I leaned closer to her to get a better look. It appeared to be some sort of shelled creature, but the lighting wasn't very good and I didn't have a great angle either.

"Are you going to take it?" I questioned

"I don't know," she replied. "What if it belongs here or is a magical artifact or something?"

"I think this shrine if more than one hundred years old," I said displaying a not often seen intelligent side. "Judging by the carving anyway. If MAGE was established after that carving was made, than it must have no magical effect or they would have found it."

"You…actually have a point there," Crys replied, she sounded surprised. Just like everyone did when I said something intelligent. "Well, since I didn't get struck by lightning for picking it up, I guess I'll take it." She gently slid the fossil into her skirt pocket (where it created a very obvious bulge) and turned around. "The only entrance to this place is the front, so we should go back and help Silver." I nodded and we went back the other way. What a weird place.

* * *

><p><strong>9:00pm<strong>

Sapphire POV

This place is weird. It's the creepiest forest I've ever been in. The trees are so close together that you can't walk in a straight line and the sun is almost completely blocked out. There is also a mist in the air so thick that you can feel it. I was holding onto Ruby's hand so that we didn't get separated. I wasn't holding on to Emerald's. I didn't care if we lost him, it was his idea that we come in here in the first place. The two people Emerald had gather for our group had gotten out in the first few minutes (I may have used one as a human shield…but that's not important). Ruby was surprisingly good at dodging the colorful attacking rays. He claimed that they would ruin his clothes so of course he didn't let them hit him, but no one can just dodge that way without practice.

"Guys, where are you?" Emerald's voice called through the mist, disturbing my thoughts.

"Over here," Ruby responded. I heard the squishy sound of Emerald running on the mossy ground towards our location. A few more energy bolts entered the area. The one nice thing about this forest was that every time the bolts came towards us, we would immediately know. The bolts generated light, so they shined extremely brightly in the low light. It was also exceptionally beautiful, as Ruby kept reminding me every time one flew past. I heard Emerald do a face plant and sniggered.

"Shut up!" he yelled at me. I felt no remorse and didn't apologize. After all, it was all his fault I was stuck holding hands with Sissy boy in a dark, damp forest. Well, I didn't actually mind the forest part so much, I _am _a nature mage after all, but holding hands with sissy boy was _not _something I wanted to do. I ignored the warmth that his hand provided in the chill of the forest. It wasn't comforting and I didn't like it. Any warmth I felt was caused by anger. That's it.

A flash of blue passed in front of me and I caught a glimpse of Emerald's shocked face as the energy wave slammed straight into his face. I tried to hold back my snigger this time, but met with limited success. It didn't help that Ruby completely lost it and was laughing so hard he almost fell down (Of course he didn't though, that would be dirty). Emerald glared at the both of us and stalked off, back to the gym I suppose. I was still giggling when I saw a flash of purple headed straight for me. I started to back away, but I wasn't fast enough. I felt two arms wrap around my waist and tug me away from the beam. A memory prodded at my consciousness, as if something like this had happened to me before, but I pushed it away. Now was not the time for flashbacks.

"Thanks," I said to Ruby, a bit awkwardly. Getting saved by sissy boy? How embarrassing. He adjusted his hat, which had been knocked askew during the rescue. I mentally cursed myself for not seeing what was under his hat when I had the chance, there _had _to be a reason he always wore that thing.

Ruby's voice interrupted my musings. "We should keep moving, they'll have a harder chance that way." I nodded and reluctantly grasped his hand in my own again. I hope this game is over soon.

* * *

><p><strong>9:50pm<strong>

Black POV

The game is almost over. It had _only_ been an hour and fifty minutes (sarcasm alert). Our team turned out to be the best possible team for this activity. I was able to create a strategy for our defense using my knowledge, Missy could detect where the bolts were coming from and Dia had an incredible defense. He could create a wall of earth which would stop all the bolts in their tracks. Pearl and White were much less helpful. Illusions would have no effect on the energy rays, so White didn't even bother trying. Air had only slightly more effect than illusions would have, certainly not enough to be useful. So they mainly focused on not getting hit.

A loud buzzing sounded throughout the campus and at the same instant all the energy rays that were left disintegrated. Then the voice of Crasher Wake came to us.

"Everyone return to the gym now." We all relaxed, put down our defenses and slowly wandered back to the gym. We had had enough of running for the day.

* * *

><p><strong>10:00pm<strong>

Yellow POV

We had had to run a lot, and I was almost hit multiple times, but our entire group managed to stay in. This was mostly thanks to Green. He is an exceptionally good aim and was able to shoot down almost all of the rays that came towards us. Any that he missed were shot down by Red using lightning bolts or were blocked by Blue using an ice shield if we were close enough to a water source. Skyla and I were not much help. The only thing I would have been able to do was to send an animal in to take the hits for us, and I didn't feel right asking them to do that for me.

We were back in the gym now, finally able to sit down. I was exhausted, my restless night and the exertions of the day taking their toll on me, and I started to drift off. Crasher Wake's voice roused me. "Well done to the thirty of you who didn't fail. To everyone else, if this were a real battle, YOU'D ALL BE DEAD! Work on it!" He stormed out of the room. The edges of my vision went dark and I saw white lights dancing across my remaining vision. I tried valiantly to stay conscious, but it was a losing battle and I slipped into the darkness of unconsciousness. Good thing I was sitting down.

* * *

><p>Red POV<p>

One minute I was listening to Crasher Wake yelling at the people who failed, then the next he had stormed out and I felt a slight weight hit my shoulder. I turned to investigate and found that Yellow had fainted. I gently grasped her shoulder with my hand and softly shook her, but it was to no avail, she was out cold. I wasn't sure what to do, so I arranged her to be more unobtrusive and let her sleep.

Just as I was considering leaving, someone else took the stand. She introduced herself as Lenora. "Everyone who failed is free to leave," she shouted over the murmured conversations happening in the gym. Over half of the students left, but no one from our dorm did. We were all sitting together in a corner of the gym.

"All the groups who succeeded in keeping every person in their group in gets a special prize, to those who lost group members, you get a conciliation prize."

"Woo!" Gold shouted. "Good thing we kept Silent guy in!"

"Falkner!" Crystal snapped. "His name is Falkner."

"Whatever Super Serious gal."

Lenora's voice sounded throughout the gym again, breaking up their argument. "Please have one representative from each group come forward to get the rewards." As soon as the words were out of her mouth Blue had taken off towards the stage. I guess she's our representative then.

"Hey Red," Sapphire said. "What happened to Yellow? I was going to walk to class with her…"

"She fainted," I replied, glancing down at Yellow.

A small box was shoved in front of my face. "Here," Blue offered. "This one's yours."

I took the box, and sure enough, my name was on it. She had given me Yellow's as well, I'd give it to her later. I opened my prize and inside there was a small stack of money and a power stick. A power stick? There was a note attached to it which I read. The note said: 'This power stick is handy for electric mages. It can hold power which you can manipulate later. Please keep it charged and keep it with you, it may help you more than you think.'

Huh, I guess that makes a weird sort of sense. The boxes were probably specialized for each mage, no point in giving a non electric type mage this. I looked around at the other to see what they got.

Blue was holding a silver canteen looking thing, Green had a lighter and Skyla had a small folding fan. I don't know how the fan could possibly help her, but she looked happy anyway. Gold was holding a box of matches and staring at Green's lighter incredulously. "How come Green gets a lighter and I get a box of matches?" he demanded angrily.

"Maybe he was more help to the group," Crystal snapped back. "All you did was sit there and watch us keep you from getting out."

Gold appeared to ponder this for a few seconds then replied. "Okay, I know I wasn't that helpful, but still, a box of matches?"

"Well at least you didn't get _this,_" Sapphire retorted holding out a card.

Gold took the card and read it aloud. "Thank you for participating and not failing our game. Here is five dollars to make up for any injuries you may have."

"Five dollars?" Crystal commented. "That's pretty harsh."

"Yeah, it is," said Ruby, morosely holding up card that was an exact duplicate of Sapphire's.

"Hey Pearl," Skyla exclaimed suddenly from beside me. "We got the same thing!" She held out her fan towards him. Pearl held his out as well. Sure enough, the only difference was the color. Skyla's was pink (just like her hair) and Pearl's was yellow (…just like _his _hair…). I glanced at Falkner, and, not surprisingly, his was blue.

I took stock of the others and saw White fiddling with something, a kaleidoscope? Black was reading a new book, no surprises there. The black haired kid with them was eating a sandwich (was that his reward?) and the blue haired girl was holding a crystal ball. I wonder if those actually work.

Crystal was trying on some boxing gloves, the girl with pigtails had a flashlight, and the red headed kid had a hood. I have no idea what that is for.

"Silver, what could that possible be for?" the pigtailed girl asked the red headed kid.

"I don't know," he replied.

"Maybe you can use it to make darkness," Gold suggested. "Use it to make shadows or something."

"I can think of so many objects that would be better for that," Silver replied. I had to agree with him.

"It's time for class guys," Crystal said holding up her watch arm. I automatically checked my watch as well and saw that it was already almost eleven. I turned to talk to Green, but he and Blue were both already gone. I wonder when they left.

"Sapphire," I began.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"Can you tell your teacher Yellow won't be there? I'm going to take her back to the dorm now."

"Sure, I don't think Professor Erika would want a fainted girl in her class anyway."

"Hey!" Gold yelled suddenly. "Where did Green go?"

No one responded. I don't think anyone knew. Gold ran out in search of his classmate and everyone else followed on their way to their respective classes. I collected Yellow into my arms and left the gym as well.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00pm<strong>

Crystal POV

Typical. Class was cancelled _again. _I'm starting to think that professor Brawly doesn't even exist! How am I ever going to become a better mage if my class is always cancelled?

"Hey Super Serious gal!" Gold greeted from somewhere behind me. I twitched and spun around to face him.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped. He just grinned at me. "What are you doing out of class anyway?" I demanded.

"I was looking around for Green and then it got to be after class already started. I didn't want to bother going in late." I rolled my eyes at him. "Are you going to put that fossil somewhere?" He asked gesturing to the bulge in my skirt pocket. I had actually forgotten about it in the intense P.E. session. I pulled it out and cupped it in my hand. It was much easier to see now that we were out of the cave. It fit comfortably in the palm of my hand. Gold leaned over to get a better look and I felt a bit tense at his close proximity. I tried to ignore it and studied the fossil some more.

"It has a tail," Gold commented.

"And a shell," I added. "I've never seen anything like this before though."

"Really? I haven't either, but I never pay attention in school." Of course he doesn't.

"I'm going to go put it in my dorm room," I told Gold. "I don't want to carry it around with me, it might not be safe."

Gold nodded and followed me when I started towards the dorm. I stopped, "Why are you following me?"

"I'm going with you!" he replied. "What if you get attacked my ninjas who want their sacred fossil back?"

I stared at him with an 'are you serious?' look on my face. "Even if I get attacked by ninjas, I can defend myself," I replied.

He shrugged. "I better come anyway." I sighed and gave up. I guess I didn't actually mind his company all that much anyway.

* * *

><p>At the dorm<p>

I found a small box in my luggage and put some packing paper in it as padding for the fossil. Gold insisted that it was a rock and couldn't feel anything, but I felt like I should protect it. I gently placed the fossil in the box and put it in the drawer in my nightstand. I didn't want to leave it out in case someone else found it. Something about it seemed special, I wasn't sure what it was yet, but Gold seemed to feel it too. And if something could get both of us to feel the same way about something, there must be something special about it.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I woke suddenly and sat up. Where am I? What – Oh, this is my room. I checked the clock. 2:00pm. Oops, I must've fallen asleep. I cast my mind back to remember what happened. I remember Crasher Wake yelling…and that's it. I sighed and was going to lie down again, but something on my nightstand caught my eye. There was a small green box sitting on the table with my name on it. I lifted the box and noticed a note that had been underneath it. I read the note first.

'Hey Yellow, you fell asleep after class so I brought you back to the dorm. The box is your prize for staying in the whole time during P.E. – Red'

I felt my face heating up in embarrassment. Red carried me back here? That's so embarrassing! I opened the box to stop myself from thinking about it. Inside there was a small pile of money which I counted to be thirty dollars. There was also a small flute. It was about half the size of a normal flute, but all the same I knew that it was simply a flute, not some other instrument. I picked it up and experimented with making a few sounds. It made a beautiful rich sound. I wasn't sure what the point was, but I was very happy with my award.

* * *

><p><strong>11:00am<strong>

Blue POV

I left the gym immediately after receiving my award and headed straight for town. Wallace had told us yesterday that class was going to be cancelled today, so I didn't have to worry about that. Silver had met with me the night before and told me that Lyra was bothered about something. That something was a man sitting upon the mage wall. Silver didn't want to investigate it because he didn't want Lyra to think that he cared about her (but he actually does) so he asked me to look into it. We had both been trained in espionage in our time with the Masked Man, but I excelled more than Silver anyway. I pulled my black gloves out of my bag and pulled them on as I made my way towards the wall. As I was putting my hair up I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. Someone was following me. I made no indication that I knew, if it was someone dangerous then the worst course of action would be to acknowledge them. I needed the element of surprise.

I saw a building and made a beeline for it. I quickly turned the corner and went inside. I peered through the windows to get a glimpse of my tracker. It was Green. All that sneakiness for nothing. I exited the building right as he was passing. "What are you doing?" I demanded.

"What are _you _doing?" he shot back. "You just left without telling anyone, that's not like you."

"We've only known each other for a few days. You don't know what I'm like."

"I've known you for – never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing!" he asserted. What was he going to say? Wait, I'm supposed to be investigating the man, I shouldn't get caught up talking to Green.

"Look, I have to go," I told him. "You shouldn't come with me."

"Tell me where you're going and maybe I won't go with you."

"Argh! I'm going to look at the wall, okay? I find it interesting how no mage can touch it," I lied.

He saw through it. "You're lying," he stated. I turned and walked away. Maybe I could lose him on the way there. I ran around trees, went through buildings and zigzagged, but I couldn't lose him. I finally gave up and just walked normally ignoring the uncomfortable sensation I have when I'm followed.

Eventually I arrived at the piece of wall Silver told me about. I looked up and there he was. A man. The wall was quite tall, so it was difficult to see, but I could tell that he had disheveled black hair and was wearing all-black clothing to match. He didn't seem to care a great deal for his appearance, and didn't seem to care if anyone saw him either. He gazed at me and slowly grinned. He made me afraid and I'm almost never afraid. But something about his _grin _and his _eyes, _it reminded me of the Masked Man. Someone so desperate and so evil that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

"Who is that?" Green murmured from beside me.

"I have no idea," I replied.

* * *

><p><strong>Yesterday, Unknown Time<strong>

? ? ? POV

_To become a mage is no easy feat; you must extract the power of a living mage and take that power for yourself. _

_I will have to capture a mage? _I clarified.

_Correct. However, you must not act yet. I will tell you when the time is right. In the meantime, make your plans._

_Why do I have to wait? _I asked. But I was too late. The voice was already gone. As much as I wanted my powers now, I knew that patience had its rewards. Besides, I wouldn't know how to extract the magic power from my victim by myself. For now I will just watch and plan.

* * *

><p><strong>Today<strong>

? ? ? POV

I saw a girl and a boy approaching my place on the wall. I recognized them. They were two of the new mages. The new mages would be perfect. They are the weakest ones at the school and will be the most easily captured. Yes, when the time is right, I will take one of the new ones. I grinned evilly at the girl. Soon, soon you and your friends shall be my quarry and one of you will give me your powers.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook:<em>

The MAGE Wall

The MAGE wall surrounds the entirety of MAGE. There is a spell on the interior of the wall that prevents mages from touching the wall and prevents non-mages from going through. The spell also prevents spells from affecting the wall – it is, for all intents and purposes, a giant barrier. The barrier extends further than just the wall itself, it goes up as high as a mage can, otherwise an air mage might be able to jump over the wall. There is only one spot where the wall can be passed through, and you must have the password to do so. The spot is kept hidden from almost everyone and the password is kept a well-guarded secret.

* * *

><p><strong>Author note:<strong>

**So, there is going to be a time skip, but nothing will change drastically or anything. I just want the main characters to be a bit more settled in before the evil man starts going after them**

**Please Review :) **


	7. One Month Later

Chapter 7: One Month Later

**? POV**

_It's time_The voice echoed throughout my mind. Finally, it had been such a long time that I was beginning to grow impatient. I had even considered taking action on my own.

_It's good you didn't. _Ugh, sometimes I forget that he can read my thoughts.

_I can kidnap one now? _I asked him.

_Yes. I will contact you when you have completed your task. _

No problem. I hadn't spent the month idly. I had a fool proof plan. My target? The pathetic little blonde girl.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

It's been a month since the ten of us arrived at MAGE now. I didn't know this at the time, but that month was full of research. Crystal and, surprisingly, Gold, both attempted to find out what the fossil and the shrine were, however; they didn't find anything useful. Blue, Green, Lyra and Silver all separately researched the man on the wall, but none of them came up with anything very informative either. They didn't have a lot to work with after all.

Platina (whose name White discovered on the BW agency form and then told everyone else) continued to research Team Galactic despite the newspaper article that we received declaring that they had been destroyed by the mage council. She met with the same amount of success as the other – none. All she discovered was what we and the mage council already knew. But at the time I wasn't aware of any of this.

I _did_ know that White spent the month organizing jobs for her talent agency. She ended up being an extremely good manager and she had filmed a few commercials. Ruby spent the month designing outfits for said commercials and Sapphire heckled the whole time, though Blue had somehow managed to convince her to be Ruby's model, to this day I still have no idea how Blue managed that.

Black spent his time reading. Really it's a pity that he didn't know about _any _of the strange occurrences, out of anyone he's the one who would have had the best chance of discovering something.

Red had realized that people were keeping secrets based off of odd actions, starting with the disappearance of Blue and Green at the PE class, but when he asked them about it they denied everything. He spent the month trying to find out what people were hiding, but he was too polite to go to the extremes he would have needed to, to discover their secrets, so even with a month of searching, he was basically as clueless as me. Actually a bit _more _clueless since I knew about the Team Galactic thing.

As for me, I spent the month in a carefree existence. I believed that Team Galactic was gone and I didn't know anything about the man on the wall. I spent a lot of time in the glade I found on the second day of school and taught myself the flute. Soon my carefree existence would be over, and the time for researching would be over, but at the time I was still blissfully unaware of that…

* * *

><p><strong>8:00am<strong>

Yellow POV

I stretched and turned off my alarm clock. Time to get ready for the day. We had gotten into a routine by now; I would get up at eight, get ready for school and go downstairs to eat breakfast. I made my way down the stairs and found Crys in her usual position on the couch eating her breakfast; I greeted her then made my way to the kitchen to find my own breakfast.

As I was pouting cereal into a bowl I heard Blue enter. "Good morning Blue."

"Morning Yellow!" she sang back snatching the cereal box from my hands when I was finished pouring. I grabbed my bowl and went back to the living room to sit with Crys. We were soon joined by Blue and we talked for a while, just like we usually did. We were always the first ones down. A few of the others were actually awake, but they didn't come down for various reasons. Ruby spent _forever _getting ready, Black liked to read in silence and Green, well he was just antisocial.

Eventually everyone (except for Sapphire, she was probably still asleep) came down to leave for class. Blue and I met up with Red and Green and headed off towards our manipulation class. Just another ordinary day in our lives.

* * *

><p><strong>10:00am<strong>

Crys POV

Clair and Silver were fighting (no surprises there) so Gold, Lyra and I were chatting until it was time for specialized class. I had spent the majority of the month (when I wasn't researching my fossil) trying to get Gold to stop gambling, but it was a more monumental task than it seemed. Anytime he wasn't with me he'd end up at the casino and I was running out of ideas of how to stop him. I had tried positive _and _negative reinforcement. Well, positive reinforcement didn't work so well since he never stopped enough to actually _get _any, but I did try negative reinforcement by forcing him to study every time he went gambling. But it actually made him gamble _more _because he gambled when he was upset. And studying, well that made him pretty upset. At least he was learning a lot. It had actually gotten to the point where I was considering asking Blue for help, but I wasn't quite at that level yet. I was reaching it pretty quickly though.

"Crys?" Lyra queried.

"Huh?"

"I just asked how your training was going," she responded.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I spaced out," I apologized. "My training's been going pretty well." This actually was true, even though I didn't have time to practice at the dojo what with stopping Gold from gambling and all, I _did_ have to practice self-restraint every time I was around him so I didn't accidentally break one of his bones, so I had gotten much better at reigning in my power.

"That's great! How about you Gold?"

"Yeah, my training's going great!" Gold lied. If I didn't know for a fact that he hadn't trained one bit, I probably would have been convinced. But I did know, so his lie was obvious.

I was about to call him on it when I heard a splintering sound and felt something hit me in the side. My chair tilted and suddenly I was on the ground. I couldn't hear anything and my vision had been reduced to the space directly in front of me. I lifted my hand and felt my head. It was wet…that's weird. I don't feel any pain. I had started to drift off (and a part of me was screaming that this was _bad_) when I felt a soothing warmth on my face. The darkness retreated from my vision and the sound from the room hit me like a tidal wave. So did my headache.

I groaned and looked around. The remains of a desk were sitting by my overturned chair. That must have been what hit me. Lyra was kneeling next to me with her hands hovering slightly above my head. She must have healed me.

"Sorry, but I can't heal you all the way," Lyra told me. "I can only repair half of the damage." Half was fine with me and I told her as much. I slowly sat up and saw that everyone was staring at me, and Clair was doing so with a decidedly guilty expression. If my mind wasn't foggy from the injury, I would have noticed that everyone was staring at me, and that Clair was doing so with a decidedly guilty expression on her face and that Gold was glaring daggers at Clair. So was Silver, but that was his normal look.

"I'll take Crys back to her dorm," Lyra said.

"No," Gold interjected. "I'll do it." Gold helped me up and we made our way back to the dorm.

"Get better soon!" Lyra called out after us.

* * *

><p>Lyra POV<p>

I rounded on Clair. "That was extremely irresponsible!" I scolded. "I mean, if Silver hit her that would be one thing, he's still a student, but you're a _teacher_!"

Clair sighed and looked at the floor. "I know," she replied. "I've actually been thinking about quitting. I mean, I'm supposed to be teaching you guys, and what have I taught you? Nothing."

"I didn't mean you should quit!" I quickly replied.

"Yeah," someone in our class agreed. "If you quit, we might get a teacher who would actually make us do something!" Not helping random person!

"Last time this happened you laughed it off!" I continued. Sadly this actually _had _happened before. A few times. Clair really was lucky I was in her class or someone might have been seriously injured, well, _more _seriously injured. Silver on the other hand, hadn't hurt anyone. Everyone would think the opposite would be true.

"Why are you so down this time?" a (different) random person in the class wondered.

"It's not just this, it's my whole life," Clair sighed as she slumped down onto a desk. "My cousin Lance is so great at everything, and I can't reach his level. By the time he was my age he was already Champion! I train and practice all the time, but I can't even beat _Silver._"

"Hey, I'm an extremely good mage," Silver snapped.

"It's not actually surprising you can't defeat Silver," I said cautiously. "He's freakishly strong." Silver was noted as one of the strongest mages in the school. We had competitions once in a while and he was _always_ in the winner.

"I know that," Clair retorted. "But he's still a _student_ and I'm a _teacher._" She sighed. "I just don't know if I'm cut out for this anymore."

I didn't know Clair had that much insecurity. I wonder if there's something I can do to help…

* * *

><p>Gold POV<p>

Crys was lying on the couch because getting her up the stairs would have been extremely difficult. Besides, those couches were comfy. "Do you need anything?" I asked her. She looked pretty bad. I knew that Lyra had healed her, but she was pale and the dried blood on her face and blouse didn't help calm me.

"Fossil…" she whispered.

"What?"

"I want the fossil," she stated more loudly.

I went to get the fossil from her room without further question. She had started treating the thing like a lucky charm after a while, and while I usually made fun of her for it, I didn't want to tease her when she lying on the couch incapacitated. The fossil was still in the drawer she had put it the day we found it, but it had been taken out numerous times since then. I opened the drawer, took the fossil and left, resisting the urge to look around Super Serious gal's room while she couldn't stop me.

I gently placed the fossil on the table next to the couch. "Here you go."

"Thanks…" She grasped the fossil in one of her hands and held it close. I sat on one of the other couches, ready for if she needed anything else.

A while later, a door knob sounded disturbing the silence. Red entered. "Hey guys," he said brightly, then he caught sight of Crys. "Are you okay?" he asked her worriedly.

"I got hit with a desk," she replied. "But Lyra healed me, I'm just weak from blood loss." She added after seeing Red's horrified expression.

"A desk?" Red repeated.

"Clair deflected it into her face," I said angrily. Just thinking about it made my blood boil. Teachers were supposed to _protect_ students, not almost kill them with desks! And why did it happen to Crys? She didn't deserve it.

"What is that?" The question jolted me from my furious thoughts. Red was staring at the fossil in Crys's hands.

"We found it in a cave," Crys said. I noticed she refrained from saying _when _we found it. Which was probably a good idea, after all, we hadn't told anyone about it for an entire month, some of them might get a bit snippy about that.

"It looks like a Kabuto," Red mused.

"A what?" Crys asked.

"Kabuto," I explained. "It's a Pokémon. You know the trading card game. Wait; are you Red of Pallet town? As in the Champion of the Pokémon league?"

Red nodded and rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly. "That's me."

"That's so cool! I watched the championship it was –"

"Guys," Crys interrupted. "You think this looks like a _Pokémon? _Pokémon aren't real. They're just a card game."

Red pulled something out of his bag and held it out to her. I caught a glimpse and saw that it was a Kabuto playing card.

Same tail, same shell, about the same size. "They do look a lot alike," I commented aloud.

"It's based off a crab," Crys snapped. "It's probably a crab fossil. Pokémon aren't real!"

"Don't diss Pokémon!" Red exclaimed.

"Yeah!" I added, taking Red's side. "Pokémon are cool!"

"Yeah, team up on the wounded girl," Crys muttered. Of course this had Red instantly apologizing and offering to get her things. I did the same, but that wasn't because of guilt, it was because of the glare she was giving me that said 'apologize or when I'm well again I will kick you repeatedly in the face.' Her facial expressions are really threatening, not to mention surprisingly detailed.

* * *

><p><strong>3:00pm<strong>

Yellow POV

ChuChu and I had taken to hanging out in the glade every afternoon, and that's where we were headed at the moment. It was a peaceful place for me to calm my nerves and it was private so that I could practice my flute without embarrassment. I started slowly and gradually sped up as I warmed up. I had found that my flute was not a normal flute (and not just because of the half the size thing). I could channel my magic though it and use it to call animals to me by playing different melodies. I had fun experimenting with different melodies, but today I was just practicing, I didn't want to bother any animals.

I played for a while and heard footsteps coming towards me. I paid them no heed; after all, there were a lot of animals in this forest and they often came to visit me. But as they came closer I realized that they didn't actually sound like any animal's footsteps I had ever heard before. I put my flute down and turned towards the noise. I was in no way prepared for what I saw.

It was a robot. It was taller than me, but it was about average human height, I'm just short. It was shaped like a person, but it didn't resembled one in any way other than that. The head was just a large black cylinder with a red light that resembled a sensor in some science fiction shows I had seen. Its arms were long silver rods ended with large claws. I inspected them nervously; just one of those claws could easily reach all the way around me. The only relief I had was that I saw no lasers or ray guns, so maybe I would be able to outrun it.

Sadly that option was soon out. When I turned to run I saw another three robots. I was completely surrounded. I panicked. What was I supposed to do? I don't know how to fight! There was a sharp pain at the back of my head and I was propelled forward. I landed on the ground and rolled over so I could see. One of the robots had hit me with its giant hand claw.

Another robot was about to hit me when a small bird flew at it. It never stood a chance, the robot swatted it away like it was a fly and it slammed into a nearby tree with a sickening thud. Anger pumped through my veins. Hurting me was one thing, but hurting one of my friends? No one hurts my friends.

"ChuChu!" I yelled. ChuChu jumped down from her tree to take a position in front of me. I had never tried it before, but manipulation works differently for nature mages than it does for other mages. I could manipulate ChuChu. A squirrel may be no match for a robot, but a bear? I think a bear will do quite nicely. I sat up and held my hand towards ChuChu concentrating on a grizzly bear.

There was a popping sound and ChuChu was no longer a tiny squirrel, a large grizzly bear stood there instead. She ran at one of the robots and slammed her head into its middle. The robot staggered back, but it wasn't enough to do any actual damage. I grabbed my flute from where I had dropped it and brought it to my lips. I began an aggressive melody, which would enhance ChuChu's strength.

This time, when ChuChu attacked a robot it went flying and gained several dents. Other animals soon joined the fray as well. Hawks pecked at the sensors, effectively blinding them when they managed to break the glass, other bears joined ChuChu in beating the robots and small animals threw rocks at them, distracting and confusing them.

Most of the robots retreated, the only ones left the ones no longer capable of moving. I dropped my flute and slumped backwards. My head was still a bit scrambled from the hit it had taken, but I was conscious enough to go check on the poor bird that had tried to help me. I crawled over to where it had fallen and examined it.

The bird was lying on the ground unmoving, but to my intense relief it was still alive. I held one of my hands above its tiny body and sent some of my energy to it. I couldn't heal things like a light mage could, but by donating some of my energy I could help the bird heal faster. It started taking effect immediately and the bird woke. It gazed at me and said _"Thank you" _

I smiled at it then collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.

* * *

><p>Platina POV<p>

I had tried to use the crystal ball I won at the P.E. class a few weeks ago many times now, but all I had managed to see were glimpses and flickers. Not enough to actually know what was going on in the future, or even the past or present. It _was _better than what I usually saw when I was awake I suppose, but I was hoping it would clear my visions more. As it was, my best visions were still the ones I had while I was sleeping. I sighed and tried the crystal ball again.

I placed my palms on either side of the ball and focused my power through the ball. The ball fogged, as it usually did, and a green color spread across it. This was usually as much as I got, but this time it started to clear up. The green became more varied and I saw a yellow dot enter the picture. The picture continued to clear and I saw Yellow sitting in the glade where I had seen the council.

She was playing the flute, but she soon stopped and turned to see something. The something walked towards her and into my field of vision. It was a robot. I gasped and let go of the ball, breaking the connection. That didn't look good.

I ran out of my dorm and sprinted for Yellow's dorm, if this was a future vision I could head her off at the pass and preventing it from happening. I arrived out of breath and stumbled in the door. Everyone was sitting on the couches seemingly talking about a rock that was sitting on the table. Unfortunately Yellow was absent. "Where is Yellow?" I demanded.

"She's at the glade," Blue responded.

"She's in danger!" I answered.

"What? What do you mean she's in danger?" Red questioned.

"There is not time," I stated. "We need to go –"

I was cut off by a growling sound. I whirled around to behold a bear trying to enter the door I hadn't bothered closing behind me, however; its body was larger than the door frame, so it was having difficulties entering. On its back lay an unconscious Yellow.

"Yellow!" a few people exclaimed.

Red and Blue ran over to the bear, which growled again.

"Huh," Sapphire said.

"Huh what?" Ruby wondered.

"The bear says that it's ChuChu."

"ChuChu the squirrel?" Red asked, staring at the bear mystified.

"Nature mages can change the shape of their familiars," Black informed from the couch. Sapphire nodded in corroboration.

"Someone should get Lyra," Crystal said and she started sitting up to leave, but Gold stopped her.

"I'll go," he told her. "You're still weak." Gold ran out before she could refute his claim. She rolled her eyes and lay back down again. During this, Red and Blue had carried Yellow over to one of the couches and laid her down upon it.

"It doesn't look like she's badly hurt," Blue stated.

"I wonder what happened to her," White mused quietly.

"She appeared to be being attacked by robots," I informed.

"Robots? What were attack robots doing on campus?" Crystal asked skeptically.

The door flew open accompanied by Lyra yelling "Where's the patient?"

No one bothered to answer verbally, but some fingers pointed in Yellow's direction. Lyra dashed over to Yellow's spot on the couch, shoving Red out of his spot next to her. Lyra breathed in deeply then positioned her hands above Yellow's head. She floated them down her body than back up.

"Her injuries aren't too serious," Lyra stated, her voice sounding a bit faraway and unfocused. "She was hit by something, but it was only a glancing blow. It appears that she expended too much of her magic energy, so she will probably be asleep for a while. I can heal her wounds, but I can't do anything about the energy expenditure, she'll have to sleep that off herself."

As Lyra was explaining all this, a gentle glow was pouring out of her hands and illuminating Yellow's body, mending her wounds. I moved away to give them more room and my hand bumped into something on the table. In that second of contact, I felt an intense rush of psychic energy. I turned to see what it was and my eyes fell upon the rock on the table. Though I realized now that it was no rock, it was a fossil. A really old fossil at that.

The strangest thing about it though, was that it wasn't actually dead. For something to have that large of a build-up of psychic energy, it had to be really old, _and_ alive.

"Sapphire do you know what happened yet?" Crystal asked, pulling me from my musings.

"Uh… Well ChuChu said something about giant metal men, and biting things that tasted bad and that she was awesome," Sapphire reported.

"That's extremely unhelpful," Crystal replied. Sapphire shrugged. "She doesn't know what they wanted or _why _they attacked her?"

"Nope."

Crystal made an exasperated sound.

"You don't think it was that man, do you," Lyra suggested nervously. She had healed Yellow as best she could and had seated herself on one of the couches not currently occupied by an invalid.

"What man?" Crystal asked sharply.

"The man on the wall," Lyra answered.

"Huh?" Sapphire said confused.

"There's a non-mage who sits on the MAGE wall watching people," Blue explained.

"Why didn't you tell us about a creepy guy who sits on a wall watching people?" asked Ruby.

"We didn't think he could actually _do _anything to us," Blue defended.

"Same here," Lyra agreed.

"We still don't know that it was actually him," Green pointed out.

I thought about suggesting Team Galactic, but the paper said they had been eradicated so I didn't bother.

"We should just wait for Yellow to wake up," Black suggested. "We aren't going to be able to prove any of our guesses until she wakes up anyway." Everyone (though some rather reluctantly) agreed that this was the best course of action, so Lyra and I went back to our own dorm with the promise that we would be contacted as soon as Yellow woke up.

It wasn't until I was drifting off to sleep that I remembered the fossil. And by then, it didn't seem to matter very much.

* * *

><p>? POV<p>

They failed? How could they have failed? I designed the robots to be extremely strong and intuitive, how could a pathetic little _girl_ fend them off? I picked her specifically because she's so weak! Rage flooded me and I threw parts of my robots on the floor of my workshop. I had spent all those weeks designing and building those robots only to be defeated by that pathetic brat.

_You should have taken level into account._

_What do you mean? _I demanded.

_The blonde girl may be puny, but she _is_ a level four mage. The higher level a mage, the stronger they are._

_So I should go after a lower level mage?_

The voice didn't respond. He usually didn't, he just said whatever he wanted to say then left. That was fine though, I had a new target in mind. And this time I will _not _fail.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>The MAGE Handbook<em>

The Light Class

Light mages are unique in their ability to heal. Their powers can regenerate and mend organic things. There are limits to their powers though, when a mage runs out of power they can no longer heal. Skill also plays into it. The more skilled a mage is at healing, the more they will be able to heal. Unskilled mages may be able to partially heal a large wound, but won't be able to heal it completely.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**Well, if this chapter was more angsty and violent than usual it's because it was written in a stressed out, sleep-deprived haze. And I seem to have taken it out on the characters haha…**


	8. Halloween Special

**Author Note:**

**So here's a random Halloween story to make up for being so late updating. The actual chapter is almost done too, I just need to edit it. Hopefully it will be up tomorrow. This takes place during the month that I skipped, so 0% plot, but I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you have fun reading it! :)**

* * *

><p>Halloween Special<p>

October 31

**8:00am**

Yellow POV

Beep! Beep! I turned off my alarm and rubbed my eyes. Why was my alarm on anyway? I thought that I turned it off since classes were cancelled for Halloween. I sat up and came face to face with a large yellow mass. "Ahhh!" I squealed jumping backwards and cowering against the wall.

"What's wrong?" Sapphire yelled bursting through my door brandishing a sword. I looked back at the offending yellow blob and realized it looked like the Pokémon card Red had given me, but human sized and flat…oh it's a costume.

"Ooo you got a Pikachu costume!" Sapphire exclaimed excitedly, putting her sword point-down on the floor and leaning on it.

"What's going on?" I asked confused.

"The school gave everyone costumes to wear today," Blue answered while walking into my room, a pile of white fabric and feathers bundled in her arms. "They gave me an angel costume!"

Whoever decided that has obviously never met Blue.

"Put your outfit on Yellow!" Blue ordered. "You too Sapphire, I'll get Crystal and White to put theirs on as well. This is going to be so much fun!"

Blue skipped out of the room humming herself.

Sapphire followed Blue out and left me in peace again. I sighed and picked up the costume. I guess I would have to put it on. Blue's scary when defied.

* * *

><p>The outfit was extremely simple. It was just a yellow jumpsuit with a tail coming out the back. At least my shortness made it look more believable.<p>

"Aww!" Blue cooed. "You're so cute Yellow." Blue was wearing a long flowing white dress with huge feathered wings sticking out on either side of her body. There was also a halo floating above her head. When I stared at it confused for a while she explained, "I got Lyra to make a floating light for a halo."

Then she grinned evilly at me. "Time for face paint!" A brush and paints seemed to magically (well, this is MAGE, so maybe it actually _was _magic) appear in her hands. I spent the next few minutes trying to stop Blue, but I quickly gave up. There really wasn't any point in trying to defy her.

Once she was finished I looked in the mirror. My entire face was painted yellow, except for the tip of my nose, which was black, and two red spots on my cheeks.

"Perfect!" Blue sang. "Let's go see everyone else!" She tugged on my arm and I followed meekly.

The first thing I saw was Red…also in a Pikachu outfit. "Hey!" he said. "We match." He grinned and I nodded nervously.

I nervously surveyed the others. Sapphire was sitting on the couch in a complete set of medieval armor with her sword resting on her lap. The visor on her helmet was up, but it still obscured quite a bit of her face. Crystal was sitting on a different couch, but she was wearing casual clothes.

"Crystal!" Blue barked. "Where's your costume?"

"I'm not wearing that." Crys stated.

"Come on," Blue begged. "Look, Yellow is a Pikachu and Sapphire is a knight. Yours isn't _that _bad."

"What is your costume?" I wondered.

"…Wonder Woman…"

"HAHAHAHA!" Sapphire laughed and there was a clatter as her sword fell on the ground and she fell sideways on the couch.

"See! I'm not wearing it," Crys declared crossing her arms over chest and slumping down into the couch.

Sapphire gasped trying to get her breath back. She then tried to sit back up, but the armor was too stiff, so she lay on her side flapping tying to get up. "Help?" she begged.

"I'm not helping." Crys stated. There was a blur in my peripheral vision as Blue suddenly threw herself at Crys. She grabbed Crys's arm and yanked her up the stairs.

"Come on Yellow!" she shouted down. "You have to help me get her in the costume." I followed and caught a glimpse of Red attempting to pull Sapphire into an upright position.

* * *

><p>After a pretty intense struggle, Blue and I managed to get Crys in the Wonder Woman outfit, and she actually looked really pretty in it. She was extremely unhappy with us though. She stormed off downstairs and sulked on the couch. Blue and I followed, and this time everyone except for Green was present.<p>

Gold was dressed up like a giant Jack-o-lantern, White was wearing a maid costume, Ruby was dressed like a butler and Black was dressed like a prince. Hesitant footsteps drew my attention and I looked at the boys' staircase to see Green wearing a giant pink suit. Kirby. He was dressed up as _Kirby. _

"Laugh and I will destroy you," Green threatened as he attempted to sit on the couch, however; the costume was too round and he ended up rolling off onto the floor. I could feel Blue trying to stop herself, but she couldn't keep it in anymore and started laughing hysterically. This set everyone else off and soon we all were laughing, well all of us except for Green. He was still rolling on the floor trying to get back up.

The laughing was cut off by an obnoxious buzzing sound that permeated the room.

"Whazzat?" Sapphire asked.

"The school wide communication system," Black answered.

"Good morning and happy Halloween everyone!" enthused a way-too-happy voice. "We took the liberty of setting your alarms early so that you would have time to dress up. Please make your way to the gym now for our annual Halloween surprise!"

"That sounds ominous," muttered Crystal.

"Someone help Green up and let's go," Blue ordered. Red helped Green and we all left for the gym.

* * *

><p>The Gym<p>

Blue POV

The gym was packed full of people in ridiculous costumes. I hadn't seen two people in the same outfit yet…other than Red and Yellow that is. Whoever picked out the costumes must be a Red and Yellow shipper.

"Blue." I turned towards the sound and instantly started sniggering. I have to meet whoever decided these costumes, because putting Silver in a _snowman _outfit, genius. His torso was completely encompassed in a white blob (which actually gave him more personal space than everyone else) and his head was in the middle of a slightly smaller white ball.

"How did you get angel when I got snowman?" he demanded. "I've gotten a horrible costume every single year."

"Like what?" I wondered.

"A panda and a penguin," Lyra answered for Silver appeared beside him. Her costume was similar to mine, but it was sparkly and pink and her wings were much smaller.

"Nice fairy costume," I complimented.

"Yeah, it is isn't it? Your angel one is very nice too!"

"Thanks. Any idea what the 'special surprise' is?" I questioned.

"Sadly no," Lyra replied. "It's different every year. Whatever happens to you is always related to the costume though. Last year we could only talk like what our costume was, that was awkward. Especially since I was a mime."

"The year before that they changed what we like to eat to that of our costumes. I ended up eating bamboo," Silver continued.

"Everyone!" Yelled the voice that had spoken to the whole school earlier. "It's time for the surprise!"

There was a flash of white light and then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Black POV<p>

I blearily opened my eyes. I remember meeting up with Dia, dressed as a chef, Pearl, dressed as an eagle, and Platina, who had refused to wear her costume. Then there was a bright light. I looked around. I appeared to be in a room, but it was a far cry from the gym. The room was huge and filled with golden objects and other treasures.

"Where am I?" I asked aloud.

_TRICK! _The intercom lady screamed in my head. _All of you have assumed the roles of your characters in a shared dream. _

Who is in the dream? It can't be the entire school, no way the spell would be able to handle all that.

_The dream only fits 20, so we put that many or fewer in each dream. You must complete the tasks given to you by the guide, or you will be stuck. Have fun!_

Have fun? That's how you're going to finish that? I sighed. It will be fine; I'm a prince, so I'll probably have to rescue a princess or something.

"Prince Black!" a short man wearing an extravagant outfit ran into the room, which I now realized was a throne room. "The Maiden White has been kidnapped by the horrible Wizard Emerald!"

"So I have to rescue her?" I asked.

"Of course you do!" the man screamed. "She is you're betrothed!"

"What? I'm not…Betrothed to White," I countered.

"Yes you are. Angel Blue has decreed it."

Blue? What has she done? "Where is Angel Blue," I demanded.

"This way." The man ran (which, for someone as short and…rotund as him was just fast-paced walking for me) out the door and went down several hallways and I was soon lost. Eventually we arrived at a room fancier than the throne room and the man bowed. I didn't bother thanking him, after all he was just a figment of mine or one of the others minds, he wasn't actually a real person.

Blue was sitting atop a throne being fanned by a gaggle of delicate noble women. "Give us privacy please," Blue requested regally. The women bowed and left us.

"Blue, what are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm the guide," Blue replied her regal expression completely gone and a mischievous one in its place on her face. "They gave me the rules and I get some…leeway with them. So you're off to rescue maid White from the horrible prince Emerald! Come on man, there isn't much time!" Blue stood and ushered me out somehow leading me to the castle gates without getting lost.

She flapped her wings and took off. "Hey Blue, where are you going?" I questioned.

"I'm not just _your_ guide," she replied. "I have to go talk to everyone else too." She flew off into the distance. I need to get out of here as soon as possible. On that note, I began my journey to find White, following the map that just happened to be in my pocket. Oh dream logic.

* * *

><p>Dreamworld<p>

Sapphire POV

"Get up soldier!" A voice screamed from above me. I jumped and fumbled for my sword, only to find that it was missing. I looked at the owner of the voice…it was Emerald.

"You!" I shouted.

"Yes, it's me. You laughed at me when I fell over during P.E., so I will be holding you captive for the duration of this event. Mwah hah hah!" Emerald laughed manically and slammed a barred door in my face. Great I get to spend this Halloween in prison.

* * *

><p>Dia POV<p>

I woke and sat up. I seemed to be in the middle of a field, but I didn't really care that much, I figured it would all become clear with time. I heard a snort and looked to my side. There was a beautiful black horse sitting next to me.

"You're very pretty," I told it.

"Dia?" the horse said with Platina's voice.

"Lady? Is that you?"

"Of course it's me, why," Platina stopped when she moved and looked around. "I'm a horse," she stated.

I nodded.

"But I didn't dress up."

I nodded again. "I guess they give you a random one if you refuse to wear the one they picked," I suggested. Lady's original outfit was a chicken suit. So really a horse was a step above that.

"Dia!" I heard Black calling me from a ways a way. I stood and looked for him. He was running towards me. I waved.

By the time he got to us he was panting. "There's a reason I wasn't on the sports team," he puffed. "I need you guys to help me rescue White," he said once he could speak again.

"Is White in danger?" I asked concerned.

"The objective of the dream is to rescue White," Black replied.

"Dream?"

"Didn't you hear the annoying announcer girl?"

"I must have slept through it," I said sheepishly.

"…We _are _asleep. It's a dream," Black replied.

"We need to rescue White so we can get out of this dream," Platina cut in.

"Platina is –" Black started.

"We have already been over this. We should leave," Platina interrupted while trotting towards a scary looking tower. It was also the only place of interest I could see, so I assumed it was the destination. Black and I followed her.

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

"Wonder Woman!" I heard Blue's sing-song voice call out. She is seriously enjoying this too much.

"What?" I demanded.

"You're mission is to find the butler and help him rescue the knight who is trapped in the tower of dread," she informed pointing to a tower that towered over the surrounding mountains and was surrounded by dark black clouds. The dream world is not a subtle place.

"In other words I have to help Ruby rescue Sapphire. By myself?"

"You're Wonder Woman! You shouldn't need any help, but I'll give you a sidekick anyway. Here." Blue tossed a large pumpkin at me. I instinctively caught it and saw that it was a jack-o-lantern.

"Don't tell me…"

"Yep, it's me, Gold," The jack-o-lantern said. "I can't move on my own so you're going to have to carry me."

"I don't want to carry you! You'll get in the way."

Blue flew off while Gold and I argued.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I slowly regained my senses and felt grass prickling against my sides. I also felt something warm next to me. I opened my eyes and came face to face with a sleeping Pikachu. I sat up to get a better look at it, but I didn't gain nearly as much height as I should have. I inspected my hands. They were small and yellow. Which must mean – I was interrupted by the loud intercom girl who confirmed my fears. I had become my costume (in the dream world anyway) and that meant that the sleeping Pikachu must be…Red.

He yawned. "A Pikachu!" he exclaimed upon seeing my and tackled me.

"Ahh! Red it's me, Yellow!"

Red let go of me. "Yellow?"

"We've become our costumes," I explained quickly.

"Yes you have," Blue agreed.

"Blue?" Red and I said in unison.

"Yes, it is I!" She looked at us thoughtfully, then pulled a flower out of her pocket. She put it behind my ear. "There, now I can tell you apart!"She sang happily.

"I've sent Black out on a quest to save White, but I think I'm going to get you two to help Wonder Woman and her jack-o-lantern sidekick. A map appeared in her hands and she gave it to us. Have fun!" She said. "I need to go find Kirby."

She flew off into a sunset that randomly appeared in front of her. "Whose mind is creating this?" I wondered absently.

"It's not mine," Red answered. "There'd be way more Pokémon if it were."

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

I was sitting on a tree stump…and I was _KIRBY! _My arms are tiny and don't have fingers, and I'm _pink. _

"Hi Kirby!" Pesky girl's voice interrupted my emo thoughts. Can't she leave me alone when I'm in my emo moods?

"You have a choice, you can help Prince Black on his quest to save Maid White, or you can help Wonder Woman in her quest to reunite the butler and the knight."

"How about neither," I replied

"We can do that too," she replied and spread her arms out wide. A vortex formed between them and I felt a slight sucking feeling which became more and more violent until it pulled me straight in.

I heard the echo of Blue's voice calling out "Enjoy!" after me.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

Ick. Of course I would land in a swamp, that's just my luck. It's going to take me hours to get these clothes clean again.

"Eww, what a yucky swamp."

"Blue?" I called out. I had heard her voice, but I didn't see her anywhere.

"I don't feel like landing in such a disgusting place," Blue replied. "So I'm staying incorporeal. I'm not staying long anyway. I just need to give you your mission. You need to travel to the forbidden Tower to rescue the knight who is held captive there."

"Not until I'm clean."

"You do realize this is a dream, right? So you're not actually dirty."

"Even if it's imaginary dirt I refuse to be covered in it!"

I heard Blue sigh then there was a rustling sound and I was enveloped in a bright light for a few seconds. When it receded all the mud that had been covering me was gone. "Happy now?" Blue asked annoyed.

"Yes, thank you."

"Go that way," Blue said and an arrow appeared in the air pointing towards a scary black tower.

"Who am I supposed to rescue?" I asked, but Blue didn't respond. She must have left. I sighed and shouldered my bag full of supplies (which I'm pretty sure wasn't there a second ago) and set off towards the dark tower.

* * *

><p>Pearl POV<p>

When I awoke I was in the air and I freaked out until I heard the announcement. Of course I was in the air, I was an eagle now. I panicked at first, but once I got the hang of how my wings worked I loved it. I always felt so…_free _in the air. I just enjoyed to sensation of flying for a while, but I had to start thinking about what my mission was. The announcement said that there would be a guide, but I hadn't been told anything yet and I really didn't want to be stuck here forever, even if I did love flying.

I dove closer to the ground and started scanning, trying to find someone I knew. I was busy staring fixedly downward when a large shadow covered the land; I instinctively looked up and met a scaled torso. I squawked and swerved to the side. The head of the creature turned towards me and its vast jaws opened revealing large sharp teeth. "Hey Pearl!" Wait that's Skyla's voice.

"Skyla?" I asked nervously.

"Of course it's me Pearl!" she said gleefully. "I had a dragon costume, remember?"

"I forgot," I replied sheepishly.

"Do you know what our mission is yet?" she wondered, looking off into the distance, which wasn't actually all that detailed. There were vague mountains, and one large dark tower. I guess the creators of the spell didn't see the point in creating zones that we weren't supposed to go in anyway.

"No one's told me anything," I answered.

"Hey guys!" Skyla and I turned to the new voice. It came from a pigeon, who seemed ridiculously small compared to the two of us.

"It's me, Wally!" the pigeon continued.

"Wally?" Skyla and I both said confused, not because we didn't know him though. He lived in our dorm. The reason Skyla and I were surprised was because he had gone into the gym in a hippie outfit.

"The voice that told us the rules said that they switched my costume to fit in with the theme better," he explained.

"What theme?" Skyla asked.

"The fairy tale theme!" a new voice exclaimed. There was a slight popping sound and Blue in full angel attire appeared. "You three, well, I don't actually have a quest for you, so you have a choice. You can help Wonder Woman rescue the Knight,"

Wait, Wonder Woman? That hardly fits into a fairy tale theme.

"You can help the Prince save the Maiden, or you can try to take down the evil Wizard." Blue finished.

"Those all sound dangerous," Wally commented nervously.

"Let's take down the evil wizard!" Skyla enthused. "The three of us can take him!"

"Good luck!" Blue said than vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Where did she go?" I wondered.

"Who cares?" Skyla replied. "Let's go take down the evil wizard!"

* * *

><p>Silver POV<p>

I'm a snowman. A _SNOWMAN. _They always find a way to ruin my Halloween. "Can't you make me a walking snowman?" I demanded of Lyra, who was flitting around next to me. Her outfit was a fairy, but the dream had reduced her size to the point that she was only visible as a ball of pink light.

"I'm trying, but I'm too small to do anything," she complained.

A raucous laugh stopped anything else from being said.

"You're a _snowman!_ I know you were dressed like one before, but now you actually _are _one!" I'd recognize that voice anywhere – Blue.

"Blue, you're an angel, can you make me walk?" I asked.

"Nope!" she answered happily. "You're stuck here until the others finish with their quest."

"I have to sit here until their done?"

"Yes. Oh and do you know where Lyra is? I can't find her."

"I'm right here!" Lyra yelled (which sounded like a quiet normal talking voice to me and Blue).

"Huh? Oh, the floaty light, that's you?" Blue asked.

"I'm a FAIRY!"

"Your job is to keep Silver company, you're too small to be useful to the others," Blue commanded.

"But I'm –"

"See you!" Blue interrupted and she flapped her wings flying off towards the horizon.

"Well, I guess we're staying here," Lyra mused.

"I can't move, so yes. Yes we are."

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

The vortex let go of me and I was in a different field. But this one was two dimensional and there were fat red blobs with arms and legs about as long as mine walking around. I would never admit it to the others, but I had played Kirby games, so I knew what these were. Waddle Dees.

"You have to beat King Dedede!" Blue's voice echoed throughout the zone. I guess I don't have a choice if I want to get out of here. I ran forward the first Waddle Dee in my way and inhaled. The suction was so intense I had to stop and the Waddle Dee soon lost its grip on the ground and flew into my mouth. I swallowed. That was a weird feeling.

Well, King Dedede, here I come.

* * *

><p>Dreamworld<p>

Black POV

We arrived at the tower very quickly once we started towards it, I think the dream didn't want to give us hours of travel time. The tower was made of solid rock and the only opening was a large black metal door, which we were all standing in front of.

"How do we get in?" I wondered.

"Have you tried opening it?" Platina asked.

I tried the knob, it was locked.

"Maybe if we knock someone will open it for us," Dia suggested.

Platina and I both stared at him skeptically. He walked up to the door and knocked. "Excuse me," he said. "We need to get inside to rescue White."

The door squeaked and flew inwards. "See? Politeness can get you into lots of places!" Dia commented. I stared at the door in shock. It opened because he asked it to? That doesn't make any sense! I guess logic is out the window in the Dream world. That means my power is useless since that's all I'm good at.

"Come on Black," Platina said impatiently. Whoops I tend to get lost in my thoughts, there's no time for that though, White could be in danger!

* * *

><p>White POV<p>

This is extremely disturbing. I thought that the Halloween surprise would be a prank or something, not a weird dream world where I'm forced to dine with some maniacal shortie. When I woke up I was in a cell, but the blond kid forced me to eat with him. This feels like a twisted version of Beauty and the Beast… Wait, I don't have to fall in love with him do I? That's just way too creepy! But what if that's the goal, they said I have to accomplish the goal…What do I do? What do I do?

_You just have to wait to be rescued…stop panicking. _A voice spoke directly in my head.

Blue?

_Yep, I would talk to you, but then the evil wizard would hear, so I'm speaking to your mind. Don't worry, Black will be here soon to save you. _

Black is coming? There was no response from Blue, I guess she was gone…Wait, how could she read my mind in the first place? She's not a psychic mage! Hurry up Black, this place is freaking me out!

"Are you alright?" asked Blondie. I snapped out of my thoughts and gazed down the length of the ten-foot long table at my captor. The food was piled full of all different types of food.

"I'm your prisoner," I replied flatly.

"You should be honored to be a prisoner of the Wizard Emerald!" Oh, Emerald, that's his name.

I crossed my arms and glared at him, the food on my plate untouched.

"Try an apple," he commanded.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Eat the apple!"

"No! Snow White ate the apple and she almost died, if I had to pick _one _thing to not eat, it would be the apples!"

"Fine! Guards take her back to her cell." Two statues came to life and walked over to me. They each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me back to my cell. Black, please hurry.

* * *

><p>Red POV<p>

I didn't really understand the point of this. The map we were given was pointless, all it did was point straight towards the only notable thing this place had to offer anyway. Yellow and I had been walking towards the tower for a while now and we still weren't getting any closer to the tower.

"How long are we going to have to walk?" Yellow wondered.

"I don't know, but we'll get there eventually!" I replied, trying to remain optimistic. Something caught my eye and I turned to look. "Maybe this is from my mind after all," I mused.

Yellow glanced at me, confused. "Huh?"

I pointed at the object flying towards us, "That's a Scyther."

"What do we do?" Yellow panicked. "I don't know how to fight!"

"Don't worry," I told her. "Just stay behind me. Remember, I'm a Pokémon master."

I stepping in front of Yellow and prepared for the bug Pokémon's arrival. I tested my electricity and noticed that it was similar to how my magic worked, although it was channeled in a different way. I usually channeled my magic through my hands, but Pikachu use their cheeks. That shouldn't make much of difference though.

The Scyther quickly entered the range of my attacks and I charged up electricity and fired a Thunderbolt at it. It dodged, but I was expecting that. I had already fired another Thunderbolt towards the location I thought it would dodge too. My judgment was correct and the Scyther dodged straight into my second attack. One-hit KO! I did a fist pump and hopped up and down in victory.

"T-That was scary," Yellow said from behind me in a tiny voice.

"Don't worry Yellow, I can handle any Pokémon we meet!"

"PIKACHU!" shouted Gold's voice. I whirled around and came face-to-knee with Crys as Wonder Woman holding a jack-o-lantern, whose face was mobile and, evidentially, capable of speech.

"It's Red and Yellow Gold," Crys corrected.

"Nice to see you guys, I think we're supposed to help you rescue a knight," I told them.

"Yeah, that's what we're supposed to be doing. Let's keep going the faster we finish the sooner I can stop carrying Gold around."

"Aww, but I like being carried by you," Gold cooed.

"Shut up Gold!" Crys reprimanded, shaking him.

Yellow and I glanced at each other, shrugged and set off after them.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

"Blue! BLUE! Come here you stupid angel!" No matter how many times or how loud I yelled she wouldn't come, and I really needed her to do that mud removing trick again. I had slipped and ended up with the entire front of my covered in mud. I sighed and continued on. I guess I'd just have to hurry and finish my goal so I could get cleaned up.

I started walking towards the tower again and found a snowman with a light buzzing around his head.

"Ruby?" The light said.

"Ahh! You can talk?" I questioned.

"I can too," the snowman stated. I didn't know either well, but I recognized their voices from when they were with Gold, Crys and Blue sometimes. Lyra and Silver.

"Hey, Lyra," I ventured. "You're a fairy right, can you get this mud off of me?"

"She can't," Silver answered for her. "She's too small to actually do anything useful."

"Hey!" Lyra exclaimed.

"It's true," Silver countered.

Lyra sighed. "Yeah, it is, sorry. I can't really do anything. That's why Blue told us to stay here and wait for everyone else to finish."

I stared at Silver and realized something. He was made of snow, and snow was made of water. Water was used to clean things.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Silver asked sounded uncharacteristically nervous.

"You're made of water," I said. Then I lunged at him and pulled some of the snow from his body off and started using it to clean my clothes.

"Stop!" Silver yelled and there was a _poof! _And he had legs. Well, he had snow piled into two blocks underneath the round ball portion of his body. "I can move," he mused wonderingly.

"Ruby!" I didn't react to my name. I was busy cleaning. "Ruby! Hey!" Someone slapped my hand, knocking the remaining snow out of it. The offender was Crys, who was holding a jack-o-lantern.

"What?" I demanded.

"We're supposed to help you save Sapphire," Crys informed.

"What about us?" Lyra asked. Crys stared at her.

"You're a ball of light," she stated confused.

"A FAIRY! I'M A _FAIRY_!" Lyra shouted.

"Why don't we all just go and get this over with," Silver suggested. "Anything to stop being a snowman."

"Alright, let's go," Crys ordered starting the march towards the tower once again.

* * *

><p>Sapphire POV<p>

Not much has happened since I got here. All I've done is sit; I thought my part would be exciting, I mean I'm a _knight! _But instead I'm a captive. I had a plan though, the next time the door opened I would attack. It always worked in the movies!

I heard the tell-tale creak of the door and sat feigning sleep as they walked to my cell and opened…the door to the cell next to mine. There was a rustling sound and small squeak then the guards left again.

"Who's there?" I queried, hoping that it was one of my friends.

"Sapphire?" quavered White's voice from the other cell. Sadly we couldn't see each other because of the solid wall between us, but at least we could talk.

"Yeah! It's me. Are you okay?"

"This crazy blond kid made me eat dinner with him."

"Emerald?" I always knew there was something wrong with that kid.

"Yeah, I think that was his name."

"He's in the same class as me an' Ruby. We keep getting' stuck with him for some reason…"

"I don't like him," White stated.

"I don't either," I agreed. I sat back and saw something by the rug reflecting the light. I went over to it and discovered my sword. What it was doing under the rug in my cell I don't know, but I don't care either. With this we can get out easy. I gripped the sword and swung it at the bars as hard as I could, and they dissipated as soon as the sword made contact. Actually they dissolved so fast that I ended up falling over from the force of my swing. I staggered back up to my feet and went over to White's cell.

"Sapphire!" she exclaimed. "How did you get out?"

"Like this." I swung my sword at the bars and, again, they all dissipated.

"Wow thanks!"

"No problem. Come on, it's time for us to take out that stupid kid with the way-too-tall hair."

White nodded and we set out, our sights set on Emerald.

* * *

><p>Gold POV<p>

I was enjoying being carried around by Super Serious Gal, but at the same time I really wanted to be able to move.

"We're finally here," Crys stated once we arrived at the base of the tower.

"It took us long enough," Ruby muttered.

"It looks like someone has been here before us," Crys hypothesized gesturing to the door which was hanging open.

"Maybe it was Black," Yellow suggested.

"Who cares?" asked Ruby shrugging. "Let's just save Sapphire so we can get out of here!"

We all agreed and entered the tower.

* * *

><p>Black POV<p>

Getting to the top of the castle was ridiculously easy. The statue guards that attacked us would basically fall apart if you so much as touched them.

"This is easier than I was expecting," I commented.

"It does seem that our task is remarkably easy," Platina agreed.

"Not anymore!" yelled a voice which was followed by someone teleporting in front of us. "I'm Emerald! The evil wizard of the tower! You shall not save your precious maiden Prince Black!"

I was about to respond when Platina bit him.

"Lady!" Dia exclaimed. "You might get sick, we don't know where he's been."

Platina spit him out and shuffled back a little. "I apologize," she said. "His hair reminded me of hay."

Emerald was livid. "MY HAIR DOES NOT LOOK LIKE HAY! I WORK VERY HARD EVERY MORNING TO MAKE IT THIS AWESOME!"

"Really?" Dia asked. "I don't work on mine at all."

"I don't either," I added though I wasn't sure why the discussion had turned to hair.

"You two think you're so much better than me don't you! With your tallness and your effortless manga hair styles, well you're NOT! Lots of people have complimented how great my hair is!"

"Did we come at a bad time?" We all whirled around (except for Platina, as there wasn't enough room so she just turned her head) to face the newcomer. The speaker was Crys, but she was accompanied by two Pikachu, a jack-o-lantern, a snowman and Ruby.

"If we're talking about hair, I spend hours on mine every morning," Ruby offered.

"But it's always covered by your hat, why do you bother?" Gold wondered.

"I know, but if my hair is messy _I'll _know. So I make sure it's perfect." The stunned silence that followed this statement was broken by a cracking sound filled the air and accompanied by the ceiling's sudden disappearance. We all looked upwards to find a dragon, who was holding the roof in its claws, an eagle and a pigeon.

"We've come for the evil wizard!" yelled the eagle, who I realized was Pearl.

"So have we!" shouted Sapphire, brandishing her sword in front of her, followed closely by White.

"Stop!" Blue cried out, appearing above Emerald's head.

Sapphire and Pearl both stopped their attacks on Emerald.

"Congratulations!" Blue enthused. "You have all completed your objectives!"

"But we haven't defeated the wizard yet," Skyla stated sounding a bit disappointed.

"You majorly outnumber him, there's no way he can win," Blue explained.

"How come we're still here?" asked Crys.

"Green hasn't finished yet. He should be done soon though. Just sit tight."

"But what about _him?_" Sapphire asked gesturing at Emerald.

"I told him be evil," Blue responded. "And I gave him my word that I wouldn't let you beat him up, so as fun as it would be to watch, I can't go back on my word. Not while I'm an angel anyway."

Sapphire grumbled but put her sword down.

"So we just wait?" asked Dia.

"Yup."

So we waited.

* * *

><p>Popstar<p>

Green POV

It was taking a lot longer to get to King Dedede's palace than I thought it would. I kept getting distracted by searching for crystal shards and medals and other things, but finally, I was here. I ran inside, inhaling Waddle Dees and copying abilities. And then, I was in the boss room. With the giant penguin himself.

He swung his hammer at my face, but I dodged and then inhaled the yellow stars that appeared upon his impact with the ground, which I then spat in his face. After a few renditions of this, I was the victor. I would never admit it to anyone, but being Kirby was kind of fun.

"Finally," Blue said. "We've been waiting for a while now. But, we're done now!" There was a flash of light and I was waking up in my real body on the floor of the gym. I sat up and saw the others doing the same. Everyone was just starting to sit up, except for a really short blond kid with ridiculous hair who jumped up and sprinted for the door. I wonder what his problem is.

"I guess we actually finished pretty quickly," Black mused.

"Why do you say that?" Gold asked.

"Everyone else is still asleep," Crys answered.

"Oh."

"I am leaving," Platina announced. "I have no desire to become a horse again."

The others seemed to agree with that sentiment and we all got up and high-tailed it out of the gym.

"I can't wait to see what happens next year!" Blue exclaimed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**Well that was random, but I hope you enjoyed it XD**

**Disclaimer: I got the idea of becoming costumes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I don't own that. I don't own Kirby or Wonder Woman either.**

**Please review :)**


	9. Attacks, of the Angst and Actual Variety

**Author Note:**

**Thank you reviewers :) I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it, so there will be more like it, don't worry :D**

**BTW I'm going with Nazo for the ? man's name**

**I would also like to say I'm not particularly happy with the Blue and Green scene, but it was taking a long time, so I just went ahead and submitted it…hopefully it's not too terrible.**

**Chapter 8: Attacks, of the Angst and Actual Varieties**

* * *

><p><strong>8:30am <strong>

Lyra POV

"I can do it Silver!" I exclaimed.

"No you can't. We all heard her yesterday, she's going to quit," Silver retorted. We had been arguing about Clair for a while now, and neither of us had been swayed from our beliefs. I was still convinced that I could keep her from quitting, and Silver was adamant that nothing I could do would stop her.

"I bet you I can stop her from quitting!" I challenged.

"Hah! Fine, if you fail then you have to clean the kitchen for me." We all took turns cleaning various areas of the house (sadly this was one of the things magic couldn't do for us). It was Silver's turn to clean the kitchen today and Silver absolutely _hated _cleaning.

"Fine," I responded. "But if _I _win, you have to wear that hood you won in PE class a month ago for three hours. In public."

I could see Silver was at war with himself, after all that hood _did _look completely ridiculous, but in the end, he couldn't resist a challenge and agreed to my terms. He _was _going to wear that hood and I would be by next to him the entire time. Most likely laughing hysterically.

* * *

><p><strong>10:30pm<strong>

Class was technically over, but I didn't have to leave for my next class yet, it was in the same building, and besides, Nurse Joy was the nicest person ever. Even if I skipped class completely I wouldn't get in trouble. So I decided now was the perfect time to talk to Clair.

"Clair," I started.

"Yes Lyra?" she replied morosely.

"I found something that you're better than Lance in."

She scoffed. "That's impossible, he's good at _everything._"

I dug the object I had been keeping in my bag and dropped it on Clair's desk_. _She looked at it quizzically.

"This is a year book," she stated.

"Yes," I agreed. "This is Lance's yearbook. Apparently he used to live in the same dorm as me. I found it in the closet when I first moved in. But that's not important, look here." I flipped through the pages to the signature section. The amount of signatures was pitifully small and it was all things like 'have a great summer,' nothing sincere.

"Wow," Clair mused. "Lance didn't have many friends did he? But what does this have to do with anything?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Her confused expression persisted so I spelled it out for her. "You're better with people than Lance is. People like you more!"

"They do?" she asked sounding unsure. Her next statement was much more solid. "You're right! I _am _better with people than Lance is! Ha! I'm better than him! You're right, I shouldn't quit, teaching really _is_ the best place for me. Thank you so much Lyra, I really appreciate it."

I smiled and waved it off. I just hope that she never realizes that I made that yearbook myself. MAGE doesn't even have yearbooks.

I walked out of the class and found Silver leaning by the door. He glared at me as I skipped out of the class.

"Time to wear the hood Silver," I sang menacingly. His grimaced. Heh heh heh.

* * *

><p>Dorm<p>

White POV

"That looks great Ruby!" I enthused about the new outfit Ruby was currently finishing. "I should go get Sapphire to model it for us!"

"How did Blue convince her to do that anyway?" Ruby wondered aloud.

"No idea, but she _is _a manipulative genius."

Ruby nodded, "She is definitely someone to watch out for." I nodded in agreement and skipped down the stairs (Ruby worked on his outfits in his room) to find Sapphire.

She was avidly watching a nature program on TV. "Hi Sapphire," I greeted.

"White! Look at this," she commanded, pointing at the TV. I obeyed. It just seemed like a normal program to me. "Nature walk with Professor Birch," I read the title aloud.

"Yeah! Professor Birch is my papa!"

"Really?" Professor Birch was a famous botanist, he knew more about plants than pretty much anyone else in the world. "So that's how you know so much about plants," I mused.

"Yep! Papa taught me everything I needed to know about plants," Sapphire reminisced with a grin. "I'm glad he's still researching even though I'm not there anymore," she continued. "I was a bit worried he would give up his research."

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"I became a mage because of the research, he felt bad about it."

"Really? What happened?" I wondered curious. "Ah! Sorry, you don't have to tell me about it if it's personal and you don't want me to know!" I babbled. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me.

"Nah it's okay!" Sapphire replied, thankfully not offended. "It's not really horrible or anything. I would help Papa with his research all the time, and one day he left me in the lab to work by myself while he was gathering samples. It wasn't a big deal, I was in there by myself all the time, but that one day, the lab was attacked.

"Some men barged in through the doors and started destroying papa's research."

I gasped. "That's so scary were you okay?"

"Oh I fought them off no problem, but then I realized their unconscious bodies were squishing some of the plants. Those poor plants, being squashed by those horrible people." She got lost in thought for a bit, then came back. "I was so sad for the plants that my power unlocked and all the plants through them off and out of the greenhouse."

"…So you were fine with being attacked," I said.

"I got attacked a lot actually. Papa never told me why, but I think it had something to do with his research. Whenever I would ask him about it, he told me it was too dangerous for me to know," Sapphire replied.

"Really? That's so mysterious!"

"Yeah," Sapphire said. "I'm really disappointed that I didn't get to find out what his research was before we came here. What happened to you?"

"Oh!" I laughed nervously. "My boyfriend cheated on me."

"The jerk! You deserve better than someone like that!" Sapphire exclaimed.

I was actually quite touched that she liked me enough to defend me like that. I smiled at her, "Speaking of boyfriends, Ruby needs you to model an outfit for him."

"What do you mean 'speaking of boyfriends'?" Sapphire demanded.

I grinned mischievously at her, but didn't reply. Sapphire glared and stomped up the stairs. Well she may be mad at me now, but that was totally worth it.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

White was taking a while to retrieve Sapphire, so I went down to fetch her only to hear them talking about Sapphire's past. I hid on the staircase stunned. She was Professor Birch's daughter? But, that meant that she – that we – that… I had tried so hard not to think about it, but it all came back to me. The blood. The screaming. I covered my face with my hands, trying to send it back to that dark part of my memory it was before, but it kept surfacing forcing me to relieve a part of my past I never wanted to recall.

* * *

><p>Flashback Time!<p>

I sat in the car quietly staring out the window. My father Norman had to make a lot of trips to Hoenn for his business, and now that I was ten he was finally letting me come with him. I was really excited, but I managed to stay silent in the car, knowing that my dad didn't like distractions.

"Here we are," my father said. I jumped up excitedly, forgetting that I was buckled in and fell back into my seat. I got up more slowly this time and made sure my seatbelt was unbuckled. I leaped out of the car and beheld a small town. The biggest building seemed to be a lab of some sort.

"This town is really small," I stated, surprised. I had always imagined my dad visiting some really modern city, but this was town was way smaller than Goldenrod, the city I was from.

"Yes," my father responded. "But an extremely famous botanist lives here and I need his help with my latest project." My dad had many projects, but he never told me what they were, he said I was too young. From what I had been able to glean from eavesdropping and spying they were science related, but I was too young to understand what any of what I heard meant.

My dad retrieved our things from the trunk of the car and we walked to a small house. "I rented this out for our stay," he informed me. The interior was small as well; there was a kitchen, a small living area, a bathroom and two bedrooms. Dad put our things in the bedroom while I looked around the living room.

"Ruby," he started. I turned to him. "Professor Birch has a daughter your age, why don't you come with me to the lab, you can meet her." I agreed and followed dad to the largest building (still not all that large) in the town.

The interior of the lab was basically a greenhouse. I couldn't tell if there was any sort of organizational system, to me it just looked like a random assortment of plants.

"Birch!" my dad called out. A heard a gasp and the sound of something being dropped, then a short man, covered in dirt appeared.

"Norman!" he said in greeting.

"Nice to see you again Birch," my dad replied and they shook hands, though awkwardly as they both had to lean precariously over plants to reach.

"Are you Ruby?" Birch asked me. I nodded. "Nice to meet you, let me find Sapphire." Prof. Birch disappeared but shortly returned with a girl wearing a pink frilly dress, who I assumed to be Sapphire, in tow.

"This is my daughter Sapphire," Birch introduced, conforming my suspicions.

"Nice to meet you," Sapphire greeted politely.

"I'm Ruby," I replied. Birch and Dad told us to go off and play while they discussed business, so Sapphire and I left the lab.

The two of us got along very well and had a great time running around the town. But then…we got to an unpopulated area, and there were two teenagers standing there.

I couldn't tell what they were doing, but it must have been illegal, because one said "They've seen too much! We have to stop them from talking!" and they attacked us.

I immediately pushed Sapphire behind me and got ready to fight. Luckily my father ran a dojo along with whatever his 'projects' were and had trained me how to defend myself. Not-so-luckily I was outnumbered and they were both older than me. Not to mention I had to defend Sapphire as well.

The fight happened so long ago that it's just a haze of limbs violence and pain in my mind now. I do remember one of them smashing me against a wall, but luckily the police showed up during this and they didn't have a chance to hurt Sapphire, who stood frozen in terror the whole time. I went unconscious after that, but I heard that the police tracked down and arrested the teens responsible and Sapphire was sent back to Birch's lab.

When we got back home to Goldenrod City my mom was extremely angry with me. She told me that I should have run rather than fight with the odds so against me. She also forbade me from travelling with my dad anymore and prevented me from staying out to late. She finally gave me a bit more freedom a year or so after the event, but I made a vow to myself. I wasn't going to fight anymore, especially not in front of people. Sapphire's terrified face flashed through my mind. Definitely not in front of people.

* * *

><p>Present<p>

"Speaking of boyfriends, Ruby needs you to model for him," I heard White say, snapping me out of my funk. I stood quickly and quietly went back to my room. I wasn't prepared to tell anyone about my revelation, least of all Sapphire. Who knows what she would think of me if she knew?

* * *

><p><strong>12:00pm<strong>

Lyra POV

In town:

"HAHAHA!" Blue was doubled over laughing.

"Blue!" Silver snapped. "Stop it."

"Ahaha, sorry Silver – Wait, no I'm not! Hahaa!"

Silver glared at her and I felt him sending me threatening glares. I ignored them and continued giggling hysterically.

"Hey Green!" Blue called out. "Look at Silvy!"

"Don't call me that," Silver complained.

Green, who had been walking past us, paused briefly, glanced at us, then continued on his way. I saw a glint of irritation in Blue's eye and she ran after him. "Come back here Green!" she yelled.

I felt Silver's eyes trying to burn a hole through my skull, so I turned to him.

"How much longer do I have to wear this?" he demanded.

I checked my watch. "Two and a half hours," I giggled.

"Argh!"

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

Stupid Green. He's been acting weird around me lately and I don't know why. It's like he has some secret or something. But what bothers me the most is that he's ignoring me. Me! Blue! He has no right to ignore me.

"Hey Green!" I said as I grabbed his shoulder, finally catching up.

"What?" he snapped.

"What's your problem?" I asked. If he wanted to be blunt, then I would be too, even if it wasn't really my style.

"I don't have a problem," Green muttered not looking at me. Yeah…And Silver likes being a snowman.

I scoffed. "Like I believe that!"

"It's none of your business." Green retorted.

"It must be, I'm the only one you're ignoring and I think I deserve to know why." We had been walking the entire conversation and had ended up in a random field (there were a lot of those here) on campus.

"Leave me alone," he grumbled.

"Not until you tell me what your problem is."

"Fine! I'll tell you if you leave me alone," he snapped.

"R-really?" I had never heard Green _yell _before. Slightly louder tone of voice, sure, but something must really be bothering him. Especially for him to give in this easily.

He had his eyes closed and his face covered by one of his hands. He sighed and removed the hand. "What do you remember from your past?" he asked me.

"What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question."

I didn't remember anything from before I was kidnapped, but I hadn't told anyone about that yet and I didn't want _Green _to be the first one I told. "Everything!" I lied cheerfully.

"Then you should know that you used to be next door neighbors with Professor Oak. And his grandson…me."

"Huh? I used to live near Professor Oak?" Professor Oak was _the _figure in magic research. He was a Mageologist, a professor who studies magic. Most mageologist are not actually mages, they just study magic. "You're his grandson?" I asked the second half of his statement finally registering.

"Yes, and we were neighbors. Look, the point is, I was there when you were kidnapped."

Shock coursed through me. Why was _he _there?

"I couldn't save you," he continued collapsing onto the ground, his head in his hands. "I tried, but there were so many of them…"

"Why didn't they take you?"

"…I don't know," he replied quietly. "It was my fault though, I was there and you were captured anyway. I just –"

"So you're avoiding me?" I snapped, suddenly angry. "Yellow just got attacked by weird robot things and you're leaving me alone? If you want to make up for what happened you should be following me everywhere so I don't get kidnapped again!"

Green looked like he'd been punched in the face. Ha take that emotionless boy.

"If you want me to forgive you, you had better follow me around until we're sure the threat is over!"

"….fine." He must feel really guilty about it to agree to one of _my _suggestions.

"Okay slave," I commanded. "Buy me lunch!"

Green glared at me, "I'll protect you, not buy your lunch."

Aww…I wanted free lunch...

* * *

><p>Silver POV<p>

Finally, Lyra and I were going back to the dorm, and once we were back I could finally take this stupid hood off. "Hey Silver, what are those?" Lyra's voice sounded a bit off.

I looked up. The sun reflected brightly off of humanoid shapes that marched towards us "Are those the robots that attacked Yellow?" Lyra wondered.

"What robots?" I asked. I didn't know what she was talking about, though, now that the silver things came closer I saw that they _did _appear to be robots. It was a pity that we were in direct sunlight, my powers are stronger in darkness.

As the robots came closer I took stock of the surrounding and realized, belatedly, that we were completely surrounded by robots. "What do we do?" Lyra asked. I mentally cursed, Lyra was a _light_ mage, her powers didn't work offensively, I would have to protect her _and_ myself.

I took a deep breath and readied myself, as the robots were almost upon us. But, the robots in front of me ignored me and headed straight for Lyra. This was annoying – I hate being ignored – but it was extremely easy for me to take them out. I collected shadow energy in my hand and flung it at one of the robots. It fell like a rock. The other robots scanned the area, seemingly confused. I flung my hood back to see better and immediately all the robots stopped searching and stared straight at me. What is going on?

"Put your hood back on!" Lyra screamed. What?

"The bet doesn't matter anymore does it?" I demanded.

"Just do it!" she screamed in response. I flipped my hood back up, to shut her up if nothing more. As soon as it cast my face into shadow the robots stopped staring at me and turned back to Lyra.

"It makes me invisible to them," I said confused.

"Silver, we can talk later help!" I quickly took out another two robots. Luckily the robots were easy to take out. A shadow ball and they were taken out, I guess they weren't expecting opposition.

Lyra stood surrounded by shut down quivering. "Are you alright?" I asked her.

Her head raised and she stared at me wide-eyed. "T-they were after me. Weren't they?"

"Duh. But on the plus side, this hood makes me invisible to them for some reason. That was a good catch."

"T-thanks." Lyra stared at me with glistening eyes.

"What?" She tackled me into a tight hug. I stiffened as she clung to me. Blue never told me what to do if a crying girl was clinging to me. Nothing that didn't involve theft in some way anyway. Lyra let go after a few seconds and dashed off towards the dorms. I hurried after her to make sure there weren't any more robots after her.

* * *

><p>The journey back to the dorms was uneventful after the attack, which was lucky because I had used up all my energy in the fight and was looking forward to going to bed. We got to the dorm and Lyra walked inside in front of me, but she bounced backwards into me.<p>

"Sorry Lyra," apologized Platina. "I was on my way to find you, Yellow has woken up."

"Really?" Lyra said excitedly. "We need to talk to her! Come on Silver." I felt myself being jerked around by the arm and pulled towards Yellow's dorm. And I was _still _wearing this ridiculous hood.

* * *

><p>Yellow's Dorm<p>

Red POV

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked for the umpteenth time. I knew that she would say yes, but seeing her laying there motionless yesterday night and this morning…I just wanted to be sure.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied once again. Luckily, she didn't seem annoyed by my repeated question.

"So what happened?" asked Blue who was seated on the couch across from the one Yellow and I were seated upon.

Yellow opened her mouth to respond, but Black preempted her, "We should wait for Crys to get back with Platina and Lyra." He pointed out. "They will want to know too and it would be better for Yellow to tell us all at once."

"But I want to know now!" Sapphire complained.

"Just be patient," Ruby ordered. Sapphire grumbled, but she desisted.

Platina, Lyra and Silver appeared in the doorway.

"I am pleased to see that you are better," Platina said politely to Yellow.

"Me too," Lyra added.

"Thanks," Yellow replied.

"Can Yellow tell us now?" Sapphire asked.

"We're all here so I don't see why not," Black stated.

"There's not much to tell," Yellow admitted. "The robots never said anything."

"Yeah, but how did you fight them off?" Sapphire asked excitedly leaning towards Yellow.

"Uh, well ChuChu turned into a bear and the other animals helped too," Yellow informed. "I didn't actually do that much," she finished sadly staring at her feet.

"We were attacked too," Lyra stated.

There was a collective gasp (except from Platina) and so many questions asked at once that I couldn't tell what any of them were. Lyra didn't seem to have my problem though as she answered, "I'm fine. No they didn't say anything to me either. Silver was with me and he took them out. And, now that you mention it, they were quite unfashionable."

Everyone stared at Ruby. "What?" he asked. Everyone just shook their heads sadly and turned back to Lyra.

Lyra explained about how Silver's hood seemed to make him invisible, though no one was sure (although Black did have quite a few theories).

"It seems like the robots were particularly targeting each of you," Black theorized pointing at Yellow and Lyra. "They waited until you were alone, or at least thought you were alone, and then they attacked."

"But we don't know who they're going to target next," Crystal pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," Black replied. "As long as we travel in pairs we should be fine. Hopefully they won't attack at all, but if they do at least there will be two of us there to deal with it."

"So we only move in pairs now," Blue reiterated, staring pointedly at Green who was doing his best to ignore her.

"Lame," Gold complained. "No one likes to go in the casino with me!"

"For the last time, no more gambling Gold!" Crys exclaimed. Gold sulked in the corner.

"Well, it's late guys, why don't we talk about this again in the morning," I suggested. It was agreed and we all went to bed, once there I couldn't sleep though. What if the robots came after Yellow again, or someone else and something bad happened to them? What would we do then?

* * *

><p>Nazo POV<p>

How did this happen? Kidnapping the defenseless light mage should have gone without a hitch, but the dark mage appeared out of nowhere. My robots specifically detect magic power, so how did he manage to hide from my robots? Ugh, I suppose it doesn't matter, I'll just have to target one that _isn't _friends with him. That won't be too difficult, he doesn't have many friends anyway. I have plenty of these robots, eventually I _will _succeed.


	10. Of Double Dates and Drunken Revelry

**Author Note:**

**Sorry this chapter is short, but I got sick this week and didn't feel like writing. But I thought I'd go ahead and post what I have instead of making you wait for another week.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Of Double Dates and Drunken Revelry<p>

**Saturday**

Town

Yellow POV

"You didn't have to come with me," I said apologetically to Red as we walked down the main street in town. "This is going to be boring for you."

"I don't mind, besides it isn't safe for you to be alone," Red replied. Last night Blue suggested we go shopping this morning, but when it was time to go she claimed she was busy and told Red to come with me. Since we're here though, I really _do _need some new clothes.

"Red! Yellow! Fancy seeing you here!" Blue exclaimed, appearing in front of us with Green in tow.

"It's hardly a surprise, we've been looking for them for the past hour," Green managed to mutter before Blue cut him off.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she laughed nervously while shooting him a glare. Red and I just stared at them baffled.

"Why don't we go on a double date?" Blue suggested. "Green and I are already on a date, you two are already on a date, its perfect!"

"We weren't –" Before I could finish my sentence, Blue was somehow dragging all three of us with her to some undisclosed location. I sighed and didn't bother fighting. I'd find out where we were headed soon enough.

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

Blue had brought us all to a place called the Sorcerer's Tavern, which in reality was just an Italian restaurant with some tasteless ye olde tavern-esque décor. I sighed and propelled one of the rubbery meatballs around my plate with a fork. It's all Blue's fault I'm stuck in this dinky restaurant. I wouldn't even be at MAGE if it weren't for her. I slipped into my memories as Blue was insinuating that Red and Yellow were a couple _again. _

* * *

><p>A few months ago I had been sent to Saffron City by my Grandfather to pick up something for his research. While I was there I…saw her. Well, I heard her first. Her bright, tinkling laugh, exactly the same as when we were kids. At the time, I knew it couldn't be her, I saw her get kidnapped, but I ran straight towards the sound anyway. I ran through an alley as she was walking past and caught a glimpse of her eyes, her joyful blue eyes. In that moment, I knew. It was her, the childhood friend I watched get kidnapped. The one I failed to save. That day I accidentally caught the alley on fire. The next I was signed up for MAGE and I knew I would never see her again.<p>

But a couple months later I did. She climbed up the stairs of the bus, sporting the same white sunhat she was wearing the day my powers unlocked and her signature mischievous smile. It only got worse from there. Not only were we in the same dorm, we were in the same class and she had taken a bizarre liking to me. It was obvious she didn't recognize me, so I pretended the same, pretended that I had no idea who she was.

But that just kept getting harder. It came to a head on the day we found the man on the wall. As I followed her I saw her using the skills that…_he _taught her. The Masked Man. And it was all my fault she was ever his captive in the first place. If I hadn't frozen when they struck I could have saved her. But I did and I couldn't. I will never let that happen again.

"Stop!" the subject of my thoughts shrieked. I jumped up, remembering a similar scream from years ago, but this time it was nothing to worry about. I observed the door slamming and Red and Yellow running past the window. They must've made a break for it.

"Green," Blue whined. "They ran away." I didn't dignify her comment with a response. It may be my fault she's here, but that doesn't mean I'm going to encourage her matchmaking fetish.

* * *

><p>Sapphire POV<p>

This morning had started out like any other normal weekend; I slept in and eventually stumbled down the stairs to eat breakfast. Then it took a turn for the weird. Before I could pour myself some cereal, Gold seized me by the arm and dragged me out of the dorm. We were half-way to town by the time my brain processed what had just happened. I'm really not a morning person.

"Where're ya takin' me?" I asked Gold.

"Town!" Gold explained joyously. I sighed and just let Gold drag me. I was too tired to pester a real answer out of him.

* * *

><p>We ended up wandering through town aimlessly. "Gold, why'd ya drag me here if ya didn't actually have anywhere ya wanted ta go?"<p>

"I had to get out of the dorm and no one would come with me," Gold replied.

"So ya kidnapped me."

"Yep!"

"Why me?" I demanded.

"We don't hang out enough Wilde Girl!" Gold replied.

"Right…" I said skeptically. "Now what's your actual reason?"

Gold stared at me, his eyes wide and innocent looking. I didn't trust him and glared back.

You were the easiest to kidnap," he finally replied.

"Aha! I knew there was a reason – Wait, what do you mean I'm the easiest to kidnap?"

"Well, Yellow would be the easiest, but by the time I woke up she was already out with Red."

"But I'm easier to kidnap than _sissy boy?_"

"Having a fight?" asked an old man who was walking past us. "A young couple like you shouldn't fight, here take this." The man handed a bottle to Gold, who immediately took it. The random man walked off and Gold started to drink the liquid.

"Wait, Gold! That's –," but he had already drunk the entire bottle before I finished with "– beer."

Gold stared at me for a second then started said, "Sapphire, does Crystal hate me?"

"Uh," I started but Gold continued speaking saving me from responding.

"She's always yelling at me. I like to think of it as a sign of affection, but what if she actually hates me?" Is he drunk? After one beer? I didn't think _Gold _would be such a lightweight.

Gold swayed and fell towards me. I caught him (good thing I'm really strong) and flung him over my shoulder. "We're going home Gold," I said as he pounded half-heartedly on my back while crying about how Crystal hated him. I would actually prefer to be with sissy boy, and that's saying something.

* * *

><p>BW Agency Headquarters<p>

Black POV

White and I were planning a commercial for the Taste of Magic café at our office and for some reason Ruby was with us. He was sitting at a table focusing intensely on his designs.

"White," I whispered. "Why is Ruby here?"

"I don't know," she murmured back. "He's been acting weird since yesterday."

"White, how are these designs for the commercial?" Ruby held out some papers towards White who took them and shuffled through them. I peered over shoulder at them.

"Wow Ruby, these are amazing!" White exclaimed. "We just got this job yesterday, how did you make these all so fast?"

"I couldn't sleep so I worked all night," he replied.

"Is something wrong?" White asked, concerned.

"No why would there be?"

"It's not normal to stay up all night for no reason," I pointed out.

"Nothing's wrong," Ruby refuted and stalked back to his table to draw some more.

"There's definitely something wrong with him," White commented.

"Obviously," I replied.

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

Lyra had come over early this morning and we were sitting in my room. She seemed to be bothered and I assumed she was worried about the robots that had attacked her.

"Don't worry Lyra," I said, attempting to be comforting. I picked up my special fossil and handed it to her. "This is my lucky fossil, you can keep it with you for a while to help."

Lyra took the fossil and replied, "Thanks, but how can I not worry? I hugged Silver! _Silver!_"

"Wait – You're upset about hugging Silver? I thought you were afraid the robots would come for you!"

"Huh? Those robots were pathetic, why would I be worried about them?" Lyra wondered confused.

"I refuse to help with relationship problems," I stated.

"But Crys," Lyra whined. "You're my best female friend! I don't have anyone else to talk to."

"Then don't talk about it."

"But you can talk about Gold with me whenever you want."

"Why would I ever want to talk about Gold?"

"Because –" I cut her off. I'd rather not hear her random theory of why I would need to talk about Gold.

"Never mind," I stated quickly. Lyra sighed and hugged the fossil to herself. Suddenly a bright white light appeared, and the source seemed to be Lyra's hands.

"Lyra what are you –?" There was a cracking noise emanating from her hands and clouds of dust began spurting off the fossil and settling in the air. Lyra brought her hands down and sitting in them was a crab-like creature. One that I had seen before. On a playing card. Red's playing card.

"Pokémon aren't real," I stated. "You're not real!" I yelled at the Kabuto.

It looked at me and said, "Kabu?"

"Don't you think you're overreacting?" Lyra commented.

I was going to respond (with a loud 'no') but was interrupted by someone at my door.

"A KABUTO!" Red exclaimed. "I knew I heard a Pokémon!"

"Red?" asked Yellow's timid voice from somewhere behind him. "What's going on?"

"There's too many people in here. Everyone downstairs!" I commanded.

Red, who had somehow gotten a hold of the Kabuto went straight down, talking to the Kabuto the whole way. Weird kid.

"Hey Yellow, how did Red even know there was a Kabuto up here?" Lyra wondered.

Yellow shrugged. "We just got back from shopping and were putting the bags down when he bolted up the stairs yelling something about Pokémon being real."

I sent them an impatient look and they both scurried down the stairs after Red. I sighed and followed. Pokémon can't be real, it just isn't possible.

* * *

><p>Downstairs<p>

Red, Yellow and Lyra were all sitting around the coffee table staring at the Kabuto, who seemed a bit nervous and was hunkering down, hiding its face.

"A real Pokémon!" Red exclaimed, for the millionth time. "Please say something," he begged it.

"Kabu?" the Kabuto replied uncertainly.

"What's up with the 'kabu' thing?" I asked.

"Pokémon are only capable of saying their names," Red replied.

"What are you talking about?" Yellow wondered. "It just asked what you wanted it to say."

We all stared at her dumbly.

"It said 'kabu,'" Lyra stated. Red and I both nodded in agreement.

"Bu to to!" the Kabuto said. We all turned to Yellow.

"It wants to know if we're Pokémon trainers," Yellow translated.

"So Nature magic extends to understanding Pokémon huh?" I theorized.

SO COOL!" Red exclaimed gazing at Yellow excitedly.

Luckily the door opened before Red could make an even bigger fool of himself or freak Yellow out too much. Sapphire staggered through the doorway with an unconscious Gold slung over her shoulder. She stumbled to a couch and unceremoniously dumped him on it.

"Phew!" she gasped. "Gold's heavy."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but why were you carrying Gold like a sack of potatoes?" I queried.

"He got drunk and passed out," Sapphire replied.

"D-drunk?" Yellow stuttered. Sapphire nodded.

"It ends up he's a real lightweight," Sapphire added. "What's that thing?" she asked pointing at the Kabuto.

"KABUTO!" Gold yelled, sitting up suddenly. He lunged for it, but missed and fell on the table instead. "Why don't you love me Kabuto?" Gold cried.

"Is he still drunk?" Lyra wondered.

"I actually hope so. If he acts like this normally I'm going to have to move," I replied.

"He's actually worse than Red," Lyra continued.

Gold seemed to have passed out again, this time sprawled across the table. The Kabuto was cowering away from him, as close to Yellow as possible. It looked at her imploringly. "Kabuto!" it begged.

"Okay," Yellow replied and she lifted it gently and placed it in her lap.

"What did it say?" Red asked eagerly.

"It asked me to save it from the crazy guy."

"Which one?" I asked sarcastically.

"Crys, why are you being so negative about this?" Lyra queried. "I'm not obsessed with Pokémon like Red, but I think that it's cool they're real."

I glared at her, but since she had told me so much of her life story, I grudgingly answered. "I spent all my time in school working as hard as I could, preparing for my future and the other kids just played with their stupid Pokémon cards. Now I find out that playing cards with all the kids I hated would actually have been more useful than learning math? It's just irritating."

"That's ridiculous," Sapphire commented. I sent her an irritated look, but I knew she was right. I was over-reacting. Doesn't mean I'm going to fawn over the thing though.

"Red! Yellow! There you are!" Blue sang, hopping into the room with an irritated Green following her. Red and Yellow simultaneously cringed and Yellow hugged the Kabuto a bit closer to her body.

"What is that?" Blue asked, noticing the Kabuto.

"It's a Kabuto," Green answered. Blue knelt in front of Yellow and attempted to grab the Kabuto, but it cowered into Yellow and she was unable to disentangle it from Yellow's arms.

"Ah, Blue, could you please back up a bit, he's afraid," Yellow requested nervously.

Blue sighed theatrically, but she backed off.

"What are we going to call it?" Red wondered.

"Maybe it already has a name," I suggested looking pointedly at Yellow, who translated the Kabuto's response.

"No, he doesn't have a name yet," Yellow stated.

"How about Shelly!" Blue proposed eagerly.

"Blue…it's a boy," Yellow commented.

"So?" We ignored her.

"How bout' Kabu?" Sapphire asked.

"Too obvious," Blue rejected.

"Fabian!" Lyra suggested.

"No," I refused.

"Hydro?" Red offered.

"Uh-uh," Blue retorted.

Gold woke up, screamed, "Zernax Yondal the Fourth!" Then passed out again.

"No," we all said simultaneously.

At this point Ruby, White, and Black all entered. "Hey guys, what's up?" Black greeted.

Red explained about the Kabuto and the three instantly put forth name ideas. Toto from Ruby, Crabby from White, and Tops from Black. All these were rejected by at least one person in the group.

"Maybe we should just call him Kabuto," I suggested. "We're never going to agree on anything else."

The others eventually agreed, though unhappily, and henceforth, the Kabuto was known as...Kabuto the Kabuto…

* * *

><p>Nazo POV<p>

Travelling in groups, smart little kids. But eventually they'll slip up, and when they do, I'll be there to take full advantage of it. I snickered to myself as I repaired one of my robots. One of their powers _will _be mine. That I am sure of.

* * *

><p><strong>Please Review :)<strong>


	11. Green's Birthday Special

**Author Note:**

**I'm sorry that this is so late, my teachers decided it was a great idea to all give me tests before Thanksgiving break, so I haven't had much free time.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews/favorites/alerts! Almost to 50 reviews :)**

**Anyway, this is Green's birthday special, (Green's birthday was last Tuesday). I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>Green's Birthday Special<p>

**2:00pm**

Green POV

My first mistake was telling Red when my birthday was. I should have known that he wouldn't be able to keep it from Blue, and now here I was, stuck in some weird land as a Charmander, falling towards a lake and almost certain doom. Of course it's all Blue's fault.

* * *

><p><strong>8:00am<strong>

Blue POV

I had tricked Green's birthday out of Red and had been planning ever since. Today was the day my plans would finally come to fruition! I cackled gleefully to myself, startling Yellow who was sitting in the room eating breakfast. I plopped down next to her and eagerly poured myself some cereal.

"Did you hear that it's Green's Birthday today?" I asked her eagerly. She shook her head. "I have a great plan Yellow! It's going to be the best party ever!" She sent me a disbelieving look. Hmph. Disbeliever. But never fear! By the end of the night she shall be a true believer in the power of Blue!

* * *

><p>Blue's Special Workshop<p>

I had found an unused building on campus and turned it into my workshop. For the past few weeks I had been coming here to create my party spell and I finished just in time. The spell worked by taking what I was imagining and turning it into reality. For a little while anyway. It suffered from the usual 'Cinderella Effect' except it was going to wear off at nine and not midnight, but it was the same logic.

My plan was to turn our dorm into an amazing party hall, complete with DJ, and to give us all amazing outfits. I actually recruited Ruby to design some of the outfits, but I made sure he wasn't aware of my plot. I want it to be a complete surprise. I recited the incantation and focused on elegant gowns and party spaces. But then the unthinkable happened.

The door burst open and Red came in. "Hey Blue, I'm missing one of my Pokémon cards, have you seen it?"

Pokémon? I thought, and at that instant the spell was cast. A light so bright my eyes shut involuntarily enveloped me, and when I could finally open them again I found that I was much shorter than I had been previously. And instead of looking at Red, I was face-to-face with a Pikachu.

"A Jigglypuff!" The Pikachu exclaimed. At least I know it's Red. No one else would be that happy about seeing a Jigglypuff, which apparently was what I had turned into.

"It's me, Blue," I countered before he could tackle me.

"I'm a Pikachu again, aren't I?" he asked.

I nodded, or tried to, but I realized I had no actual head and just swayed on the spot so I replied in words, "Yes you are."

"Yay!" Red shouted jumping up and down.

"This is all your fault Red!" I complained. "I was trying to make an awesome party for Green, but instead we got turned into Pokémon!" Red was too busy doing a happy dance about being a Pikachu to hear me. I sighed and left him to his jubilation. The spell would wear off at nine anyway. I guess I should check on the others though, they might have changed too.

* * *

><p>The dorm<p>

Sapphire POV

I woke up this morning expecting a normal day, but when I sat up, instead of seeing myself in the mirror, I saw a Torchic. I leaped up and dashed towards the stairs. When I got there I stumbled, and when I tried to steady myself, I realized I didn't have hands and ended up bouncing down the stairs landing in a heap at the base. After reorienting myself, I found that the others had turned into Pokémon too.

I couldn't tell who was who, but I saw a Pikachu, a Chikorita, a Skitty and an Aipom. "What happened?" I asked.

"No idea," answered the Chikorita in Crys's voice.

"I'm a Pikachu again," the Pikachu, who was actually Yellow, stated glumly.

"I woke up like this," Gold the Aipom said.

"I turned into this while I was working," the Skitty explained in sissy boy's voice. "I love how adorable I am, but I can't work with no hands," he continued conflicted.

"I assume Blue has something to do with it," Crys theorized in answer to my question. As if summoned by her name, Blue entered, except that she was a Jigglypuff. The only reason I knew it was her was because of the large nametag stuck on her head that read 'BLUE.' A Pikachu followed her sporting a similar tag with the word 'RED' on it.

"This is all Red's fault!" Blue exclaimed, and tried to point at Red, but half-way through the gesture she realized she didn't have fingers and ended up waving awkwardly in his direction.

"I didn't know you were casting a spell," Red defended.

"One of you explain in more detail," Crys demanded.

"I was trying to cast a spell that would make us all ready for a party for Green," Blue answered. "But Red came in and made me think of Pokémon at a crucial moment, and we ended up like this."

That went totally over my head, but Crys seemed to understand. As this was going on, Red grabbed a permanent marker and created more tags, running over to everyone and sticking them on their respective heads.

"Green didn't want a Birthday party anyway!" Crys yelled, although the intimidating effect she was attempting to achieve was ruined by her body. It's just impossible to be afraid of an adorable, green, plant Pokémon.

"Guys! Guys!" White's voice exclaimed as a Tepig ran into the room. "I'm a Pokémon! So is Black, what's going on?"

A second Tepig followed White and I assumed it must be Black. Red must have thought the same, because he went over to them and stuck 'WHITE' and 'BLACK' nametags on the respective ones.

Blue gave her explanation to White, then wondered, "Has anyone seen Green yet?"

No one had. Until he came thundering down the steps that is. "What did you do Blue?" he demanded fiercely. Green stood a few stairs up glaring at us in the body of a Charmander. I was slightly disappointed, I was hoping he'd be something small and pink again. Kirby Green was a classic.

"That's what I want to know too," growled Silver (who was currently a Sneasel) as he entered our dorm followed by a Marill, Piplup, Chatot and Munchlax. As soon as the five were in the dorm, there was a sudden quake and I was thrown into Blue (who at the moment, was actually very fun to run into – very squishy) and as we were trying to disentangle ourselves, the floor just…vanished and we fell.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

Red and I had grabbed onto each other as the floor disappeared and were now falling. We were spinning and twisting so much it was hard to see where we were going, but every once in a while I caught a glimpse of the ground below us. It appeared to be an open field. A field that was rapidly becoming closer.

A few feet from the ground right when I was sure we were doomed, we abruptly slowed and were dropped softly on the grass.

"Are we alive?" I asked weakly.

"I think so," Red replied. I opened my eyes and looked around warily. It _was _a field, but there was no sign of the others – Red and I were the only ones there.

"Where is everyone else?" I wondered.

"No idea," answered Red.

"We need to find Blue, maybe she can stop this."

"I don't think she can, it wears off on its own at 9, I don't think it can be stopped before then."

"Green's going to be really upset."

We sat in silence for a few minutes and saw two people walk by.

"We're must be in the Pokémon anime world," Red theorized.

"Why do you say that?" I wondered.

"That's Ash Ketchum," he replied.

I stared at him blankly. "Who's Ash Ketchum?"

"The main character of the Pokémon anime! Don't tell me you never saw it?" Red stared at me in horror.

I shook my head resignedly, "My parents never let me watch it." Red reacted to this news with an expression of pure disbelief and very obvious pity. "Never watched the Pokémon anime…"

"Hey, it's two Pikachu!" one of the people said.

"Hello Ash Ketchum!" Red exclaimed, suddenly happy again. Now that Ash was right next to us, I noticed that he bore a striking similarity to Red. Weird.

"I wonder why they're out here," the other person mused. "And look, they have colors stuck to their heads." He had eyes that seemed to be locked into a permanently squinty position and had spiky brown hair.

"Did he not understand what you said?" I wondered. I had assumed we were speaking English since I could understand everyone, but maybe we were speaking like Pokémon (Which I now knew about since Red had decided to tutor me on all things Pokémon a while ago. We hadn't made it to the anime yet, but that was probably going to be next after this experience).

"How could he have?" asked the yellow mouse that was sitting upon Ash's shoulder. "How did you know his name anyway?" He directed the second comment at Red.

"He's the star of the Pokémon anime!" Red replied enthusiastically.

"The what?" the Pikachu asked confused.

"Nothing!" I told it quickly, before Red could go off on a rant about Pokémon. I hope the others are alright…

* * *

><p>Silver POV<p>

The three stooges had bumped into Lyra and I during the freak quake and we ended up falling together. During the drop I managed to disentangle myself from them and looked to see where we were headed. A city. That's going to hurt. As I was preparing myself for a sudden impact with the pavement, we rapidly slowed, and landed gently. I surveyed the others, Lyra (currently a Marill) was curled in a ball, but seemed uninjured, and the other three were sitting on the ground all seemingly fine.

Lyra uncurled herself and stood up. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We appear to be in Cerulean City," Platina, as a Piplup, replied.

"So we teleported?" Pearl (currently a Chatot) theorized.

"I don't think this is actually Cerulean City," I mused.

"Why do you say that?" Dia (the Munchlax) asked.

"I think he's referring to that," Lyra said, pointing up at the sky. Everyone looked up and saw what I had seen earlier, the ceiling of our room.

"We appear to still be in the living room," Platina stated. I _know_ this is all Blue's fault, I'm not sure what she did or _why, _but I know it's her fault. It has Blue written all over it.

A piercing shriek interrupted my accusatory thoughts. I turned towards the source and saw a girl with an orange side ponytail. She ran over to us and grabbed Lyra and squealed "Such a cute Marill!"

"It's Misty!" Dia exclaimed. At the blank expressions from me and the others he elaborated. "From the Pokémon anime."

"That's great," Lyra gasped. "But can we get her to let me go now?" The girl, Misty, continued to squeeze Lyra, the suddenly sprinted off, Lyra still in her arms. I took off after them, out of instinct. How come I keep having to save her?

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

The odd quake thing that made the floor disappear made me bump into Ruby and Gold and now we were falling to our very probable doom. I always knew something like this would happen because of Blue. Well, I never imagined it quite like this, but I always knew it would be something completely ridiculous and unexpected. Which is exactly how I would describe _not _dying after we fell all that way, it was actually quite a soft landing.

I stood (I had landed in a heap) and tried to walk over to see if Ruby and Gold were okay, but I was having trouble getting used to walking on four legs, so it was more of a stumble.

"You guys okay?" I asked.

"My fur is muddy!" Ruby cried. Yep, he's fine.

"Crys, I fell, how 'bout a kiss to make it better?" Gold replied. And he's fine too. Why did I get stuck with them?

"Awww, what a cute Skitty," a girly voice cooed. "Is your name Ruby?" The voice was coming from a girl who looked remarkably like Sapphire. Scarily alike. Same hair, she was even wearing the same outfit Sapphire was wearing the first time I saw her. The only was this girl was different was her lack of fangs and that she was speaking properly.

Ruby didn't seem to notice, as he was too busy posing and trying to look adorable.

"I'm May," the Sapphire look-alike said. "How would you like to participate in a Pokémon contest?"

"What's that?" I wondered.

"It's where Pokémon show off how pretty they are," Gold replied.

"How do you know?"

"She's May from the Pokémon anime, she specializes in contests. Don't tell me you've never seen the Pokémon anime?" Gold exclaimed aghast.

"Don't go all Red on me! I never had time to watch anime," I snapped.

While we had been arguing, Ruby had apparently agreed and was following the girl away. "Hey! Wait Ruby!" I called running (or at least trying to) after him.

* * *

><p>White POV<p>

The floor started shaking and I saw the others start falling. I reached blindly out for Black hoping he could save me and his hand (or paw...) found mine. He had somehow gotten a grip on a painting on the wall before the floor disappeared and we were now dangling precariously off of it.

"Black, what do we do?" I asked frantically.

"Uh, I don't know. I don't think I can get to the door," he replied, strain evident in his voice. I tried to think light thoughts, but it didn't seem to be working, and I was already beginning to get tired from hanging off of him. Hurry up and think of something Black!

* * *

><p>Dia POV<p>

I mindlessly stuffed more of the sandwich I was holding into my large mouth as I watched Silver chase after Misty who had abducted Lyra. It looked too difficult to chase them, so I continued to sit and eat, marveling at how much easier it was to eat as a Munchlax.

"Dia- I mean Diamond, we need to chase them!" Pearl exclaimed. I glanced at him and took another bite out of my sandwich.

"They appear to have gone too far now," Platina commented. "We would not be able to catch up with them."

Pearl made an exasperated sound, but he landed (he had been hovering in anticipation of pursuit.)

"Why was Misty here anyway?" Pearl mused. "The anime isn't real."

"I imagine it was the spell that Blue cast," Platina answered her gaze turning upwards to get a glimpse of the room above us.

"Look a Piplup!" a girly voice shrieked. I knew (from watching the anime series way too many times) that the voice belonged to Dawn. However, Platina and Pearl did not seem blessed with such knowledge.

"Who's that?" Pearl wondered. "She looks like you," he commented to Platina.

Platina nodded. "Yes, my likeness was used for one of the Pokémon anime characters," she explained.

"REALLY?" I exclaimed. "That's amazing! I mean, when I saw you I noticed the resemblance immediately but I thought it was just a coincidence, you're actually the real Dawn?"

Platina and Pearl both stared at me blankly. "Stop being so obsessed with it!" Pearl yelled, whacking me in the head with his wing. "It's not real!"

"Ow," I muttered and ate more of my sandwich for comfort.

"Are you okay!" Dawn asked, her face suddenly very close to mine. I backed up, startled. She rounded on Pearl. "What a horrible thing to do!" she chastised. "Poor little Munchlax." She rummaged around in her bag and found some Poffins. "Here," she offered, holding them out to me.

I excitedly got up and shoved all the Poffins into my mouth. Delicious. Maybe Pearl will hit me again and I can get some more!

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

"BLUE! What did you do?" Uh-oh, Sapphire's so angry she's speaking properly. We had fallen, like everyone else, and were now in a really large city, one I had never seen before. Which is really disturbing when you think about it, since this is supposed to be from _my _mind. But, I can ponder that later, when I _don't _have a very angry friend about to roast me…literally. Sapphire, in Torchic form, was radiating heat and I could feel her preparing an Ember attack. So I did what any Jigglypuff would do, I used my Pound attack.

Unfortunately Pound is not a very strong attack, so Sapphire was mostly unfazed. She inhaled, preparing to use her Flamethrower attack, but at the last minute a thin man with green hair held a tray out towards us.

"Would you like to sample my new Pokémon food?" he asked us. Sapphire's mouth snapped shut and her eyes became huge and filled with sparkles.

She snatched one of the cube shaped morsels and shoved it down her beak. "YUM!" she exclaimed and rapidly consumed the remaining blocks.

"Wow," the green haired man said with a shocked expression on his face. "I'm glad you liked it, would you like to come back to my café and try some more? Your friend can come too." He gestured at me as he said the last.

Sapphire bobbed her head up and down vigorously while making sounds of agreement. I was just thankful Sapphire loved food, if she didn't I would be a small flaming pile of pink Jigglypuff by now.

We both followed the man, who by this time I had realized was Cilan from the Pokémon anime. I never had time to watch it when I was younger, but I had seen it here since Red always had it on. I guess my spell recreated the Pokémon anime world. Green is not going to be happy about this…

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

Red and I were talking to Ash's Pikachu while Ash trained and Brock made lunch.

"Isn't weird that you and Ash look so alike?" I idly commented to Red. Ash's Pikachu was confused at this, but we ignored him.

"It shouldn't be, Ash was based off of me," Red replied.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, they had a Pokémon card competition in Pallet town, and the winner got to be the model for the main character of the anime. I won of course," Red explained.

"Of course," I echoed.

"What are you talking about?" Ash's Pikachu asked confused.

"We're actually humans," Red attempted to explain.

"No, you're both Pikachu," Ash's Pikachu replied.

"No, it's just a spell, we're actually humans."

"A spell?"

I sighed. This conversation was going to go on for a while.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

May (who I was pretending _didn't _look like Sapphire) was taking me to the contest hall in Lilycove City and along the way she told me all about Pokémon contests. I would be a master at contests if they were real. We soon neared the contest hall. It was a large building that took up a good portion of the city, even more so at the moment with all the people milling around outside.

I looked around from my position in May's arms. Gold was sitting on top of Crys as she trudged after May with an angry expression on her face. I really feel sorry for Crys sometimes.

"Here we are!" May exclaimed happily as she walked through the electronic doors that led to the interior of the contest hall. "There's the sign-up desk." She gestured to a long desk that spread across the back wall of the entry room. May walked up to the desk and spoke to a smiling receptionist behind it.

"I'd like to sign up for the Pokémon contest please," May said.

"Gold get off me!" Crys yelled.

"But I'm tired," Gold whined.

"I don't care! Get off!" I saw Gold go flying through the air and slam into the wall behind the reception desk.

"Oh dear, that poor little Aipom," May exclaimed theatrically. Pretending that she wasn't Sapphire was getting easier with every word she said. Proper grammar, liking pretty things, definitely not Sapphire. Gold crawled up from behind the desk and sat down.

"Owww…" he said, holding his head. "Why Crys? Whyyyy?" Crys rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Are you okay?" May asked Gold.

Gold shook his head and looked at her pityingly. "Do you want to enter the contest with us?" May offered. I shook my head vigorously, but May seemed to mistake my 'no' for extreme excitement. "Your friend wants you to. You can enter as well," May offered Crys. Crys stared at her with an expression that said 'are you kidding?' but May seemed to misread Crys' expression as well since the next thing she said was, "It's no problem at all. I'd like to enter with these three Pokémon please."

The receptionist typed something into her computer, then turned back to May. "You're all set! Please wait for your name to be called."

"Thank you," May replied. "Come on," she said to us. "Let's get ready!"

She carried me to the preparation room with Gold following excitedly and Crys following…not-so-excitedly.

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

Sapphire was busy shoveling food into her mouth as fast as possible. Cilan had taken us to his café, and as promised, presented us with more food. So far I hadn't been able to eat any. Every time I reached for a food block, Sapphire snatched it out from under my…er…arm. Jigglypuff don't really have hands… How Sapphire was managing to hold food with her wings is beyond me.

"Wow," Cilan commented. "I'm glad you like it, but we're going to run out of food soon." Sapphire made no notice of his statement and continued to eat voraciously. Sapphire was the center of attention in the café with every patron staring at her incredulously.

I sighed. This really wasn't how my day was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a brilliant party for Green! One he probably wouldn't appreciate, but he would have liked it more than _this. _

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

I dropped to the world below and landed in a field all by myself. Pesky Blue. I _knew_ she was going to try something. I sat in the field by myself for a while, simply staring at the sky. I suppose I should thank Blue for giving me a valid reason to skip school, but at the same time, I'm a Charmander right now, and I never thank her for anything, so not gonna happen.

I don't know how long I sat by myself staring at the sky, probably a few hours, but my sky watching was rudely interrupted. By a giant flying bird. Zapdos. It circled above me, then swiftly descended towards me. By the time I realized I needed to move it was already upon me. Its claw encircled my body and lifted me up. Great. My birthday just got even better…

* * *

><p>Pearl POV<p>

Dawn was feeding Poffins to Dia, who was quite happily eating them. "Have any of you three seen the mythic bird Zapdos?" Dawn asked idly.

"Of course not!" I exclaimed, then realized she couldn't understand me and shook my head. Dia and Platina both shook their heads as well.

Dawn sighed. "I figured you wouldn't have, but apparently he's been sighted around here and I was hoping one of you may have seen him."

"Look," Platina said, pointing at the sky. Dia, Dawn and I turned our eyes to the sky. There was a large yellow bird flying across the sky, and it seemed to have something grasped in its claws, but it was too far away to tell for sure.

"Zapdos!" Dia and Dawn exclaimed at the same time. Dawn leapt to her feet and started running after the bird. "Come on," she called back to us. "Let's follow it!"

I flew after her immediately, with Platina following closely behind on foot. Dia…well he took a while to catch up.

* * *

><p>Red POV<p>

This was the best day ever! I was a Pikachu, I was in the Pokémon Anime world with Yellow. And we were both Pikachu again!

"Do you want to have a Pokémon battle?" Ash's Pikachu asked.

"YES!" I answered instantly.

"Uh…" Yellow hesitated.

"Come on Yellow," I begged.

"O-okay…" she replied nervously.

Ash's Pikachu did a fist pump and dashed over to his trainer where he explained the situation. Ash understood and thought it was a great idea.

"How about a double battle?" Brock suggested. "Ash and I against you two Pikachu."

I nodded decisively, Yellow…looked dazed, but she nodded all the same.

We stood on a battle arena (which had conveniently appeared during our conversation), Yellow and I on one side, Ash and Brock on the other.

"I choose, Pikachu!" Ash called out predictably.

"Go, Onix!" Brock yelled while hurling a small Poké ball at the arena, which burst open in a flash of red light revealing the large rock Pokémon.

"Red," Yellow mumbled. "I don't know how to use any moves…"

"Don't worry," I encouraged. "It's instinctual, I'll tell you what move to use, and you should know how to use it naturally." She nodded uneasily, but had a determined look on her face.

"Alright, Pikachu let's start this out with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. His Pikachu stored power and launched it at us.

"Yellow, use Double Team," I ordered. I followed my own orders and zipped to the side at an extreme speed, easily dodging the bolt of lightning. I spared a glance for Yellow and saw that she had managed to avoid the blast too.

I charged forward and attempted to tackle Ash's Pikachu.

"Onix, Block him!" Brock ordered.

"Yellow, use quick attack on Pikachu," I ordered. Yellow snapped to attention and dashed past Onix and me, ramming into Pikachu, doing a surprising amount of damage. After just one hit, Pikachu wobbled and fell over, its eyes turning into swirls.

"Wow," I said surprised. "That was easy."

"I barely even touched him," Yellow murmured, staring at the fainted Pokémon.

"NOOOOO! PIKACHU!" Ash yelled, leaping to the yellow mouse's aid. Yellow jumped out the way quickly, accidentally bumping into Onix, who lost its balance and fell over in front of me. I poked it experimentally, and it groaned. I hopped upon its body and walked along its body to find its head. Sure enough, its eyes were spirals just like Pikachu's.

"Onix!" Brock screamed in anguish.

"Why was that so easy?" I wondered aloud.

"Maybe it's because they're from Blue's mind," Yellow theorized. "If she thinks they're pathetic, maybe they are in this world. I've heard her talk about Ash being weak before…"

"Ash isn't weak!" I refuted. "He's a lovable underdog!"

"But maybe _Blue _sees him as weak."

"That…is possible," I admitted, remembering Blue's rant a few days earlier when we were watching Pokémon. She had complained about Ash losing so often. Oh Blue, why did you ruin it? This was supposed to be an amazing battle!

* * *

><p>Silver POV<p>

I had been tracking the red head and Lyra for a while and she finally stopped at a gym. I followed her inside. The interior was a giant swimming pool which was filled with all sorts of water Pokémon, Lyra among them. She looked extremely disconcerted and soon caught sight of me.

"Silver! Silver! Help me, the crazy anime character kidnapped me!"

"What do you want me to do?" I snapped. She swam over to me and hopped out of the water.

"Just…keep her away from me"

"Where are you going?" Misty's demanding voice interrupted our conversation. "You're our newest Pokémon, you're staying right here!"

Lyra shook her head vigorously. "No! No, no, no, no –"

"We got it Lyra," I cut in.

"Silver! Do something!" Do something? What does she want me to do?

I grabbed Lyra by the tail and threw her behind me, out the door. She bounced out of the gym yelling complaints as she travelled.

"Staryu!" Misty called out. The star shaped Pokémon jumped out of the water and took its place before me, ready for battle. "Water gu-"

Before she could finish her command I attacked using night slash. Blades of darkness leapt from my claws towards my foe, and instantly KO'ed it. While Misty was staring at her fainted Pokémon in shock, I ran back out the door and met up with Lyra. Then we both sprinted away, hoping never to see that place again.

* * *

><p>Black POV<p>

We had been hanging from the picture for quite a while now, and I still hadn't thought of what to do. Luckily Tepig seem to have great endurance or we would have fallen a while ago. Then it hit me, I could send out an SOS! It would probably get Blue in trouble, but I didn't want to hang there any longer. The dorm was equipped with a button that would alert the school to a problem, if we could just get to it, they could save us.

"Hey Boss, do you see the SOS button anywhere?" I asked her.

"The what?" she wondered.

"The SOS button, it should be a red button that will call a teacher to help us." White surveyed the room for the button. I would have helped, but I couldn't move too much for fear of dropping White.

"I see it!" White exclaimed. "By the door." We weren't anywhere close to the door, how were we going to press it? Hmm, but we _are _Pokémon.

"Boss, can you use Ember on it? That might be enough to press the button."

"I can try," she replied uncertainly. I heard her inhale, then there was a blast of hot air as she expelled the flames from her mouth. "Got it!" she jubilated.

"Woo!" I exclaimed. "Now help is on the way!"

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

So somehow I ended up entering a Pokémon contest. With Gold. That just spells disaster. We were the next up and Ruby was practically vibrating with excitement.

May ran up to us, "Our turn!" She exclaimed. She motioned for us to follow and, for some reason, I did. We went out onto stage to the sound of obnoxiously loud cheering.

"Okay Aipom! You're up first!" May yelled, stopping Ruby, who was about to leap up front, in his tracks. Gold jumped up excitedly and leapt up to the front of the stage. He hopped around spastically for a while, which trust me, was _not _impressive in any way, but for some reason, the crowd went wild. I glanced over at Ruby and held back a laugh at his expression. He looked like he was about to die from the horror that was Gold's appeal.

"You okay Ruby," I asked, faintly concerned for his sanity.

He gazed at me with horror-filled eyes and then screamed, "NO! I AM NOT OKAY! Look at him! It's…It's…What he's doing is so horrible, I can't even think of the words to describe _how _awful!"

"You don't have to, I can see him Ruby."

"But you obviously don't have my amazing taste,"

"What do you mean obviously?"

"I've seen what you wear,"

"It's the school uniform Ruby!"

"But you don't accessorize."

"And you do? All you wear is that stupid hat that Sapphire's always trying to steal."

"My hat is amazing!"

"And that's it for the amazing Aipom!" The announcer yelled, breaking thorough our argument. Ruby and I both turned our eyes towards where Gold was just before, but he was no longer there. I looked around the arena and finally spotted him sitting on top of the announcer's head all the way across the arena. How he got all the way over there, which was across a lake, a few hills and over a 10 foot TV screen is beyond me.

"It's your turn little Chikorita," May said to me, in a tone I found _extremely_ annoying. I tried to convey how much I did _not _want to go on stage, but she didn't get the message. She picked me up and practically tossed me to the front of the stage, where I stood completely still. I was quite uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Crys, use Razor Leaf!" Ruby commanded from behind me. In my panic I did what he said without question. Leaves shot out from somewhere on my body…not really sure how that worked…but the crowd went wild. That wasn't too reassuring though, considering how they liked Gold's spastic dance.

"And this is May's Chikorita!" The announcer shouted.

"Okay, Ruby, it's your turn," May said. Ruby sprang towards the front of the stage, but before he could reach it the ground we were standing on warped and shifted, then we were back in the living room, all human again. And Ruby face planted into one of the couches.

* * *

><p>Pearl POV<p>

We rushed after Zapdos, and were somehow keeping up with it. Even Dia, and he was just as slow as usual. I assumed it was something to do with the magic world, no way we'd actually be able to keep up with it. We ran and ran and ran and eventually arrived at a lake, where whatever was being held in Zapdos's claws was suddenly dropped.

I flew as fast as I could trying to catch it, but I knew I wasn't going to make it in time.

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

The lake filled up my vision. I knew falling in that lake wouldn't be good for me. As a Charmander falling into a lake was one of the worst things that could happen to me. I saw Pearl trying to catch me, but I knew he wasn't going to reach me in time. The water grew closer and closer, but at the last moment, it shifted, and instead of landing in a lake, I landed on the carpeted floor of our living room.

"Okay Maggots!" exclaimed the extremely angry voice of Lt. Surge. "Which one of you _geniuses _did this?"

Lt. Surge was standing in the door with his arms angrily crossed over his chest.

"Blue!" everyone yelled, except for Blue who yelled "Red!"

"BLUE!" Surge exploded. Blue actually looked a bit sheepish. I didn't know it was possible for her. Lt. Surge stomped over to Blue, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her kicking and screaming out of the dorm.

"Uh…" Yellow tried to protest, but chickened out.

Lt. Surge continued on his way talking about all the detention Blue would get for her misuse of magic.

We sat in silence for a few moments. Then Red suddenly broke the silence. "Happy birthday Green!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I know this was Green's Birthday special…and he was barely in it… Whoops I didn't even notice until I was already finished… I actually forgot to put White and Black in too and wrote them in at the last moment ha…I'm too distracted lately**

**I haven't seen that much of the anime, so the characters are probably OOC, but I wasn't really trying that hard since they were Blue's versions, and I think anything that comes from her mind is probably a bit…weird.**

**Please Review! :)**


	12. Indiana Red and the Temple of Mon

**Author Note:**

**Thank you so much for all the kind reviews! :) Special thanks to Kaith1 for finding my mistakes last chapter, sorry about those, hopefully they're all fixed now! And I'm glad you think they're in character, I was kind of worried about that. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Indiana Red and the Temple of Mon<p>

**Saturday**

**9:10am**

Yellow POV

Kabuto was extremely interesting to talk to. He's from before the Mage Era even started, which was over 300 years ago! Apparently the world was full of Pokémon back then, but Kabuto has no idea what happened to them. I don't get it, how could all the Pokémon simply have disappeared? Everyone just thinks that they're a _game _now.

"So, any new stories from Kabuto yet?" Red asked enthusiastically. He'd been getting me to translate Kabuto's every word for hours now and didn't seem bored in the least yet.

I looked at Kabuto and Kabuto dipped the front of its body up and down which I assumed was its version of a nod.

"There's a story about a secret temple," Kabuto explained. I translated for Red, who listened raptly.

"Legend says that there is a temple that was built around here many years ago. It was a majestic sight, towers reaching up to the sky, but one day there was a great earthquake that shook the very foundation of the land. The quake was so strong, that apparently the temple was actually buried under the ground along with all those inside it. According to the stories, the temple had something magical about it; Pokémon would go there to be healed. There were theories that those inside the temple would still be alive when it was buried. Maybe they're still alive like me."

Before I had finished translating the last sentence, Red had bolted out the door, forgetting in his excitement that we were supposed to travel in pairs. Luckily Gold ran out the door after him.

Kabuto sighed in relief. Finally, after 6 hours, he would get a break from Red's incessant curiosity.

* * *

><p><strong>9:30am<strong>

White POV

I sat on the couch, absently listening to Yellow tell Kabuto's story then watched as Red and Gold sprint out the door. Where was Black? On weekends we always met at 9:00 to go to the agency together. He's never been late before.

After waiting for a few more minutes I finally got fed up and marched up to his room. I threw his door open and crossed my arms angrily. He was lying on his bed, still asleep.

"Black!" I yelled.

He shifted a little and mumbled something too quietly for me to hear. I wandered over his bedside and leaned over to hear better. "Momentum equals mass times velocity…" he muttered.

"Is he reciting formulas in his sleep?" I wondered aloud. He appeared restless and I gently placed a hand on his forehead. It was hot. I quietly left the room and closed the door behind me, he was obviously sick (why else would he recite formulas in his sleep?) so I didn't want to bother him.

However I wasn't sure how to get to the agency without Black, we'd decided not to go anywhere alone after the robot incidents. When I got back downstairs, the front door opened and Pearl, Dia and Platina walked in. "White," Platina greeted. "We arrived at the BW agency at the appointed time, but –"

"You weren't there!" Pearl cut in.

Dia watched the scene mutely, absently nibbling on a loaf of bread.

"I'm so sorry!" I apologized. "Black is sick this morning so I couldn't make it down to the agency in time."

"That's okay!" Dia forgave.

"No its not!" Pearl countered. "We waited for over half an hour!"

"But Black was sick and White couldn't get there by herself," Dia replied.

"Doesn't change the fact we waited for half an hour."

"How about we just leave now?" Dia suggested peaceably. "We can work on our routine." At the mention of their beloved comedy routing Pearl instantly calmed down and the four of us headed off towards the BW agency.

* * *

><p><strong>9:40am<strong>

Red POV

A secret temple with more living Pokémon inside? Of course I _had_ to investigate immediately. Just one small problem… I never actually waited around to hear wherethe temple is located.

"Red!" Gold's voice called out to me. I turned to see him running up to me. "You're going to look for the temple right? I want to come too!"

"Yeah! Let's conquer that temple! Um…you didn't happen to hear where the temple _is_ did you?"

"Of course not, I ran out as soon as you did," Gold replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh well, how hard could it be to find a secret underground temple?"

* * *

><p><strong>Three hours later<strong>

"Red," Gold puffed. "If I collapse, go on without me. The temple is bigger than just you or me. At least one of us has to make it." Gold had been going on like this for quite a while now. I wasn't really bothered by it as it seemed to entertain him, and an entertained Gold is much better to hang out with than a bored Gold.

"Gold," I said, interrupting his monologue for the first time. "I think I found the entrance."

"What, really?" Gold asked shocked. I gestured to the indentation that had caught my attention. We were standing in one of the fields around the campus which was entirely flat. Except for a perfectly square depression in the ground. "Is it a trapdoor?"

"I think so," I replied.

"Well let's open it!" Gold dug under the grass growing over the indentation and searched for a handle. He soon grew tired of this and stood back. "Watch out," he warned me, then put both hands in front of him facing towards the door. At first, nothing happened, but then flames were shooting out of his hands at the trapdoor. The grass was instantly incinerated and the force from the fire knocked some of the dirt covering the door off. Gold continued until the door had caught on fire and there was nothing left but ash.

"I think that's enough Gold." Gold stopped flaming and caught his breath.

"Phew, that took a bit of energy," he panted.

I ignored him and leapt down the hole previously covered by the door and then realized, maybe I should have looked down first.

* * *

><p><strong>10:30am<strong>

Crys POV

The dorm is so much quieter without Gold here. I can actually focus on what I'm reading, how heavenly. "Crys!" Of course someone has to interrupt me. I scanned the room for the offending party. It was Sapphire.

"What?" I asked.

"Where's Blue? She said she would help me with…" she trailed off. "A problem," she finished. I didn't particularly want to know what her 'problem' was, so I didn't bother to pursue her extremely obvious cover up.

"She's still in detention from Green's Birthday party," I replied. "You know, that time you turned into a Torchic and ate a mountain of food."

Sapphire's eyes became wide and shiny as she reminisced about the fun time she had that day. "That reminds me, the girl that forced me to perform in the contest looked exactly like you," I mused.

"One of the characters from the anime?" Sapphire clarified. "Yeah, my dad helped out on the show with the plant Pokémon, so the company used me to design one of the characters. I never watched it though. I heard my likeness was a sissy." She shuddered as she said the last.

"She _was_ a sissy."

* * *

><p><strong>1:00pm<strong>

Gold POV

Red jumped in the hole without looking first or anything. I really hope he's okay, because I never paid attention in health class. I kneeled by the hole and peered into the darkness. It was too dark to make anything out though. I would have sent a fireball down to illuminate the cavern, but I didn't want to accidentally burn Red. "Red?" I called out.

"I'm fine!" his voice replied from a ways below. "There're some really soft carpets down here to land on. Come on down!" I didn't need any more encouragement. I hopped into the hole and fell. The landing was soft, as promised. I created a small globe of fire in my hands and then let it drift upwards until it was levitating just above my head.

"Wow, that's much better!" Red exclaimed.

We had landed in a large room which, luckily, was completely covered in huge, thick, fluffy carpets. Really I should add life-saving to the list of adjectives describing those carpets.

"Well what are we waiting for?" I demanded. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p><strong>12:00am<strong>

Sapphire POV

Sissy boy's been avoiding me. Usually I have a couple arguments with him every day, but we only had one argument in the past three days! I was hoping to talk to Blue about it, after all Green had been avoiding her at one point, but now he's following her everywhere…not that I want Ruby to follow me around.

But if I can't have Blue's help, I'll just deal with it myself. I marched up the stairs to the boys dorms and stormed into Ruby's room. Ruby was sitting at his desk working seriously on one his horrible sissy outfits.

"Ruby!" I yelled.

"What?" he asked annoyed. He stopped sewing and looked at me.

"You've been acting weird," I stated without preamble. "Well…Weirder than usual."

"No I haven't!" he denied. "And I am not weird normally."

"Yes you are."

"If you're just here to insult me get out of my room."

"No."

"Either put this on or leave," Ruby demanded holding up a frighteningly frilly, blue dress. I debated with myself for a few seconds, but I decided that this was going to be my best chance to talk to Ruby.

"Fine," I replied snatching the dress out of his hands.

* * *

><p><strong>2:00pm<strong>

Red POV

We had left the landing room and were now in a much smaller room that was full of all shapes and sizes of pots. Gold ran over to one and picked it up. He shook it, then suddenly hurled it at a wall. The pot broke into tiny pieces revealing a few poke balls and some gold coins.

"Ha!" Gold exclaimed. "You see? There's always treasure in the pots!"

"I guess so," I replied shocked. I walked over to the Poké Balls and opened all of them. To my disappointment, they were all empty. There were six in all, so I took three and gave the other three to Gold. I stashed mine in my bag and Gold stored his in his bag.

I stared at him for a few moments.

"What?" he asked.

"Aren't you going to look in the other pots?" I wondered.

"Nah, they're all empty. Come on!" Gold set off down the hallway again. How he could possibly know all those are empty is beyond me.

* * *

><p><strong>2:00pm<strong>

Third person POV

"Well Black isn't here so it'll be just you and me Platina!" White exclaimed happily. The two were getting ready to meet with a café owner to record a commercial. Dia and Pearl weren't going to be featured in this one, so White and Platina were going without them. Black was originally going to go with them, but plans changed due to his illness.

Platina nodded seriously and bid Dia and Pearl farewell.

Platina and White walked happily over the sun-soaked grass, the latter happily babbling about some topic and the former listening politely. So caught up in the peace of the day were they that they never even noticed the robots slowly encircling them. Not until it was too late anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>2:30pm<strong>

Red POV

Gold was being _way _to hyper. Maybe Crys was actually right about all those video games being bad for him. He's been running around daring zombies to attack and looking for potions.

We wandered through the temple for quite a while, exploring rooms, Gold randomly finding treasure and taking it, but we still hadn't found any Pokémon. I know we'll find some though!

"What was that?" Gold asked suddenly.

"I didn't feel anything," I replied while my eyes darted around the room to see what Gold was talking about. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Not for a creepy underground temple anyway.

"Something touched my head!" Gold exclaimed.

"There's nothing on your head Gold. Wait. There's nothing on your head. Weren't you wearing a hat?"

"MY HAT'S GONE!" Gold yelled. He had been wearing an Indiana Jones hat which he called his 'super dungeon exploration hat.' "Did you take it Red?" Gold accused. "I saw you eyeing it enviously!"

I put my hands between us in a surrendering gesture. "It wasn't me," I assured him.

"Then what –" Gold stopped speaking suddenly, because at that moment his hat dropped down in front of us, stopping between our heads. Holding the hat appeared to be a small hand, except that instead of being attached to an arm like you'd expect, it was a purple tail.

"AIPOM!" I yelled, grabbing at the tail. The Aipom jolted at my yell and took off down the hallway.

"Wait! Hat thief!" Gold shouted as he pursued the Aipom down the tunnel. I stared after him a bit bewildered.

"Bulba…" the Bulbasaur standing next to me said thoughtfully. Wait…a Bulbasaur?

"BULBASAUR!" I yelled and tackled it. This time I didn't miss and I seized the plant-like creature in my arms. It struggled to escape, but it was completely trapped in my vice-like grip. Keeping one arm around the Bulbasaur, I rummaged through my bag to find one of my Poké Balls. Finally my hand gripped one and I pulled it out. Unsure of precisely what to do, I used the Bulbasaur's head to press the button on the Poké Ball. The ball flipped opened and the Bulbasaur dissolved into a red light.

The light swirled into the Poké Ball and the ball snapped shut. It landed on the ground with a muffled thud, then shook. I anxiously watched the ball as it shook once, the twice and finally three times.

"I caught a Bulbasaur!" I exclaimed to the world.

I held the Poké Ball reverently in my hands. A Bulbasaur! And it's actually mine! I released it from the ball. It stared at me.

"I'm going to call you Saur!" I announced. Then I felt something on my head. I looked up to see what it was, but it was already gone. However, I got my answer as Gold ran down the hallway screaming "Give back my hat!"

I sighed. "Come on Saur. I think Gold needs help." Saur nodded and followed obediently as I chased after Gold.

* * *

><p><strong>12:20pm<strong>

Sapphire POV

I had somehow managed to get into the monstrosity that Ruby called a 'dress' and was now back in his room demanding answers.

"So what's wrong with ya?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Ruby said in a sing song voice. "I just wanted to see you wear that dress!"

"Argh!" I yelled storming off down the stairs and sitting sulkily on the couch. Crys glanced at me from over her book with a confused expression.

"What are you wearing?" she asked aghast.

"Ruby made me wear it and I don't know how to get it off," I muttered.

"I thought you would just rip it up."

"The sleeves are too tight. I can't move my arms."

Crys nodded thoughtfully and went back to reading her book. A lot of help she is.

* * *

><p><strong>2:10pm<strong>

Third person POV

"White, create an illusion," Platina commanded. "It should distract them away from us"

White stared at Platina, horror evident in her face. The robots came closer to the two girls, and yet White still hadn't done anything.

"White!" Platina commanded.

"I-I can't," White replied feebly.

Platina looked desperately for something to save them, but they were alone in a secluded field. Her psychic magic would have no effect on robots and White wasn't helping. Platina realized in that quick survey that they had lost. She didn't bother trying to fight, it was futile anyway. The robots grabbed her by the arms and carried her off. White they threw off to the side and left in a heap in the field sobbing.

* * *

><p><strong>2:40pm<strong>

Black POV

It was already after 2:00 and I had _just _woken up. That's not normal for me! I hope White's not too angry at me for being so late.

I rushed through my morning routine and dashed out the door hoping to catch White still at the BW Agency. I was in such a hurry, that I almost overlooked the form lying on the grass. When I went to get a closer look, I found that it was White. She was curled up on the ground, sobs wracking her body.

"White?" I called out quietly. She didn't respond so I repeated her name, a bit louder this time. "White." I reached out to her and gently tapped her on the shoulder. "What's wrong?" She didn't respond, but she did latch on to me, crying into my shoulder. I realized I wasn't going to get anything out of her, so I pulled her to her feet and started to mostly drag her back to the dorm.

* * *

><p><strong>2:50pm<strong>

Red POV

Gold and I were still chasing the Aipom. That thing could really run…or swing I guess, it hasn't actually touched the ground since we've been chasing it. I guess Gold finally lost it as he hurled his entire bag at the purple creature. As the bag flew through the air, some of the contents fell out of the bag, and although Gold missed completely with the bag, one of the Poké Balls dropped directly onto the Aipom's head. The Aipom turned into red light as Saur had earlier, and was sucked into the ball. Luckily, Gold's hat was _not _sucked into the ball; the Aipom had dropped it when the Poké Ball hit it.

Gold snatched up his hat then did a jubilant dance. I watched the Poké Ball anxiously as it started to shake. The ball shook three times! Gold caught an Aipom! "Gold, you caught an Aipom!" I told him excitedly.

"Huh?" he replied, stopping mid dance move. His eyes travelled down to the small red and white ball. "I CAUGHT AN AIPOM!" he yelled. He ran to the Poké Ball and released his new Pokémon. "I will call you, Ataro!" Gold announced. Ataro grinned mischievously and looked hungrily at Gold's hat. Gold panicked and quickly returned Ataro, holding onto his hat protectively.

I glanced at my watch, almost 3:00 already? We'd been out here longer than I thought. "Gold, let's head back to the dorm. We missed lunch."

Gold registered what I said, then immediately started sprinting towards the exit with me following close behind. It was Crys's turn to cook, and she gets _mad _if you miss a meal that she cooked.

* * *

><p><strong>2:50pm<strong>

Blue POV

Finally! Out of detention and on the way back to eat a late lunch! Green walked along sulkily beside me. According to our new rule, no one was allowed to go anywhere alone so Green was forced to come with me to detention.

I marched into the dorm victorious. "I'm done with my last detention!" I announced excitedly.

The sight that greeted me was not what I was expecting. Sapphire was sulking on the couch in a ridiculously frilly dress, seated next to her was an extremely irate looking Crystal who glared at us as we entered. Yellow was standing nervously by the kitchen door with Kabuto wrapped in her arms.

"Do either of you know where Red and Gold are?" Crys demanded. "They didn't show up for lunch."

"Haven't seen em'" I replied cheerfully as I skipped over to Yellow and patted Kabuto's head.

Green slipped in the door and took up a position leaning in the corner.

"GOLD! RED!" Crys screamed suddenly. The aforementioned had just slipped in the door trying, and failing, to get in unnoticed. "Where have you been?"

"Um…Look an Aipom!" Gold exclaimed throwing out a red and white ball then sprinting up the stairs. Sure enough, an Aipom appeared out of what I now realized was a Poké Ball.

"Pom?" it asked confused.

The door flew open (again) and Black entered supporting a sobbing White.

"What happened?" I asked aghast.

"Is she okay?" Yellow wondered anxiously.

Crys hurried over to the door and helped Black support White. Together they lowered White gently onto one of the couches.

"White, what happened?" I asked again.

"P-Platina!" she sobbed. "She was taken."

"What? How?" Crys demanded.

"I…We were walking and they just took her! The robots!"

"What?" Crys exclaimed. "But I thought walking in pairs was working!"

"I did too," Black added.

"It…I think it's my fault…" White cried. "I- I'm not really a mage."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I really hope you liked this chapter, I've been wanting to add this twist for a while now. I hope it was a surprise!  
><strong>

**Please review :)**


	13. Where Gold Makes Inappropriate Comments

**Author Note:**

**Thank you so much for the reviews :D Sorry this chapter was late I meant to get it up way earlier, but I'm visiting relatives for Christmas and I'm having trouble finding time to write. That's why I'm updating at seven in the morning.**

**Just a quick note here, I was just using Clay and Whitney because they are my least favorite gym leaders, I wasn't really trying to have them in character. Also assume they are both normal high school student age. **

_(this) = _people talking in the present time during the flashback

_This _= psychic mind-talking

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: In Which Gold Makes Several Inappropriate Comments<p>

Blue POV

White had been so shaken up when she got back we gave her a little while to calm down before we heard her story, but I was getting impatient. I want to know now!

"Are you ready to tell us yet?" Gold asked impatiently. I looked at White eagerly to see her response.

She nodded and replied, "I'm ready."

"Some of you already know this, but when I was younger I lived in Nuvema town and I had two best friends. Bianca and Cheren. We were inseparable." White explained, a small smile on her face as she reminisced. "We did everything together, until…" her smile faded. "Cheren's family moved away. Bianca and I were devastated, but in the end it made Bianca and I closer.

"Anyway, time went on and Bianca and I stayed best friends. But Bianca got a boyfriend named Clay, and that's what started everything…"

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

White POV

Bianca was gushing about how great Clay was _again. _Something about him just seemed _off _to me, but whenever I say anything bad about him Bianca gets really defensive. I sighed and pushed the questionable-looking school food around my tray as I pretended to listen.

"There he is!" Bianca squealed suddenly. "Clay!" she exclaimed waving her hands frantically at her boyfriend who had just entered the cafeteria. He nodded stoically at her from across the hoards of people and got in the food line. Bianca stared at him, her eyes practically heart-shaped.

Once Clay had his tray full of the slop they called food, he wandered over to our table. I checked my watch. Close enough to my next class.

"Sorry Bianca," I said. "I have to get to my next class. Say 'hi' to Clay for me." I retreated before Clay could make it to our table. I tended to get a bit nauseous when sitting next to the two of them and found it was best I leave preemptively.

I hadn't gotten very far when I heard footsteps running after me. "Wait White!" Bianca called out. "You're class is on the way to mine! Let's walk together." I felt a rush of affection for her, she still chose me over her boyfriend, best friends till the end.

(_"What does this have to do with you not being a mage?"_

"_Gold!"_

"_Alright, I'll skip ahead")_

* * *

><p>One month later<p>

Briiing! The harsh sound of the bell reverberated throughout the school. I turned to look at Bianca sitting next to me and we shared a grin.

"It's the weekend!" we shrieked in unison. I jumped up, slung my bag over my shoulder and together we sprinted out of the classroom headed for the main door. We had a tradition, every Friday afternoon we would go and get ice cream together, no matter what. We dodged the mass of students rushing towards the door with the skill only students have and soon escaped and slowed to a brisk walk.

We had almost reached the ice cream parlor, when Bianca gasped, "I forgot my wallet! It's still in my locker."

"That's okay, I can pay for you," I offered, unwilling to go all the way back to school.

"No! You paid for me last week, I'm supposed to pay this time. Let's go back and get it."

I sighed but I agreed. We finally got all the way back to the school and reentered the building.

_("This is taking too long, hurry up!"_

"_GOLD! Stop interrupting!")_

By now the place was a complete ghost town; the lights were down to emergency lighting and all the door were locked. I looked around nervoulsly taking in the light which reflected oddly off the floor, creating odd shaped shadows on the wall.

We hurried to Bianca's locker and had almost arrived when we heard giggling. We instantly stopped and stared at each other with frightened eyes. Bianca mouthed 'ghost!' and silently we made the decision to investigate. Quietly, we made our way towards the noise which seemed to be coming from a classroom. We shared a nervous look, then threw the door open. The sight that greeted us was not a pleasant one.

It was Bianca's boyfriend, making out with the head cheerleader Whitney. They broke apart at the sound of the door slamming against the wall, but it was too late. Bianca had already seen. There was a moment of complete silence then the room suddenly darkened, despite no change in the lighting.

Images appeared in the air, strange violent images. Clay and Whitney ran past us while screaming for their lives. Which didn't really surprise me since most of the images involved violent things happening to one or both of them. I stared at the illusions…illusion. Oh.

"Bianca, you're a mage," I said quietly. She simply stared blankly at the spot her boyfriend had been previously. "Bianca!" I shouted. I grabbed her arm and shook her. That seemed to snap her out of it.

"White…what happened?" she asked weakly.

"You're a mage Bianca," I repeated.

Bianca stared for a second, then slumped down on the ground and began sobbing. "I can't be a mage!" she wailed. "They'll take me to that school, away from my family, away from you! What do I do?"

I didn't have an answer for her. Her family was really close, her dad was going to completely freak out. It should have been me. I'm an orphan and Bianca is my only close friend. And I'm about to lose her anyway.

"Excuse me," a deep voice said from the entrance. I whirled around. There were three men in police uniforms at the door. "We have gotten reports that there is a mage in the building."

"Me!" I blurted. "I'm the mage."

"White? What are you doing?" Bianca hissed at me.

"Don't worry," I replied. "I'll be fine!" The men flanked me and one walked behind me as they led me away. I guess they were afraid I'd run.

"Thank you White!" Bianca shouted after me as I was led away. "You'll always be my best friend!"

* * *

><p>Present Time<p>

Crys POV

"No one noticed that you weren't actually the mage?" I asked skeptically.

"No," White replied. "Bianca and I were both in the room so Clay and Whitney couldn't actually tell which one of us it was."

"Couldn't that story have been summed up as 'I was covering for my friend?'" Gold asked.

"Gold!" I yelled as I hurled a pillow at him with so much force it knocked him on the floor.

"Ow…" he muttered.

"So…travelling in pairs _was _working," Black theorized, ignoring the exchange. "It makes sense if you think about it. They are obviously after a mage, so they can _only _see mages. When White was with Platina it showed her as walking by herself."

"Someone needs to tell Dia and Pearl…" White realized sadly.

"I think White should do it. She's the one who lied to us," Gold said.

"Gold!" I reprimanded. "She _should _have told us, but she did it to help her friend."

"We should tell Silver and Lyra too," Blue pointed out.

"Uh…We came in half-way through the story," Lyra pointed out. Everyone jerked around, and sure enough, Silver, Lyra, Dia and Pearl were standing in the back.

"Woah! When did you guys get here?" Gold wondered.

"Half-way through White's story Lyra already said that," I answered irritated.

"So…they don't know that Platina was kidnapped yet," Gold clarified.

"What!" Pearl, Dia and Lyra exclaimed in unison (Silver didn't say anything, but his eyes widened ever so slightly).

"Nice work Gold," I commented sarcastically.

"We never should have left her!" Pearl exclaimed.

"We have to save her!" Dia said, in the loudest voice I had ever heard him use.

"Maybe we should tell a teacher…?" Yellow suggested quietly.

"There's no point," Lyra countered. "I told them about the creepy guy on the wall and they just told me the usual 'we can't get involved in the business of non-mages' thing."

"They won't do anything," Black agreed. "The peace treaty between the mages and non-mages is very fragile. If anything could appear as an organized attack by mages on non-mages it could break the treaty. The teachers work for the council, so they're not going to help."

"But they kidnapped Platina," White said confused. "Isn't that an act of aggression?"

"It is," Black replied. "But the treaty is a lot more strict on mages than it is on non-mages. The mages _did _lose the war."

"Well we have to do _something_!" Pearl yelled.

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

Nazo POV

Finally! Finally I have captured one of the mages, and now her power will be mine!

_Not so fast. You must bring her to me first. _

What? I can't obtain her power by myself?

_I haven't told you how. I need to see the girl, then I will tell you how to make her powers yours. Bring her to the Team Galactic headquarters in Sinnoh._

Fine, I thought tersely. "Come on!" I yelled at one of my idle robots. "Prepare the girl for travel. It's time to meet the man whose orders I have been following."

The robot nodded and headed off towards the girl's cell. I won't let this small delay get me down. Soon I shall be a mage, just as I have always wanted!

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

Platina POV

The robots had put me in a small cell in the basement of whatever building they took me to. I knew that we were no longer on the MAGE campus, but I am unsure how they managed to get in or out of the school. The only conciliation was that if the robots managed to get in, maybe Dia and Pearl could get out to help me.

My thoughts were stopped abruptly when a robot clanged down the hallway and barged into my cell. It grabbed one of my arms with one of its enormous claws and dragged me out of the cell and up the stairs where I caught the first real glimpse of my kidnapper. He was a tall and rather thin man with black hair thrown thoughtlessly back into a loose ponytail. He glared at me with piercing brown eyes that were so dark they were almost black. The clothes he was wearing matched his eyes.

"Come witch," he snarled at me. "We go to Team Galactic."

Team Galactic? I knew they weren't destroyed…

_Dia, Pearl_, I thought desperately, trying to connect with them. _I'm being taken to Team Galactic! _I thought the words over and over again, focusing on my psychic powers. I can only hope it reached them.

* * *

><p>The Dorm<p>

Dia POV

The others had been arguing for quite a while now. We have to save Platina, but we don't know where to look for her, and even if we don't know how to leave the school.

_Dia, Pearl. I'm being taken to Team Galactic!_

"Platina?" I asked surprised. I scanned the room, but she wasn't here. The message repeated and I realized she was sending me a mental message.

"Platina's being taken to Team Galactic," I informed, trying to make myself heard above the din. It worked and the noise was replaced with stunned silence.

"And you know this how?" Silver asked skeptically.

"She sent me a mental message," I replied.

"Where is Team Galactic based?" Lyra wondered.

"Sinnoh," Crys replied. At the questioning looks she received she elaborated. "I looked into them after Yellow and Platina both had visions about them. I don't know where in Sinnoh they are though."

"I thought Team Galactic was destroyed," Sapphire said confused.

"The council thought they were," Crys responded.

"If Team Galactic is still around, the councils need to be warned," said Black.

"Saving Platina comes first!" Pearl yelled.

"Yes, but if Team Galactic continues unchecked they could start a war," Black retorted.

"Can't we do both?" Red wondered clarified.

"You mean…Split up?" Crys clarified.

"Why not?" Red replied.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Yellow asked nervously, hugging Kabuto closer to herself.

"We don't know how to leave the school anyway, so this is all just theory," Green pointed out.

"Um… ChuChu got here riding on top of our bus," Yellow informed. "She knows how to get in and out of the school."

There was a shocked silence following that statement. All I cared about was that we would be able to rescue Platina.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Gold asked. "Let's get out of here!" He jumped up from his seat on the floor and made for the door, but Ruby's sudden shout stopped him.

"WAIT!" Ruby exclaimed. "We can't go looking like this! We should wear the travel outfits I made for us."

"What travel outfits?" asked Sapphire suspiciously.

"I wasn't sure if we would ever need them, but I made them just in case."

"And they're just sitting in your closet."

"Yes."

"What if they don't fit?" Crys wondered.

"I have all your sizes," Ruby replied nonchalantly.

"That's really creepy," Gold commented in an offhand manner.

Ruby took great offence to this. "It is _not _creepy!" he refuted. "Every tailor can judge a person's clothing size by looking at them!"

"No, it's definitely creepy," Sapphire said in agreement with Gold.

The two were about to start another argument when Red cut in.

"Guys, let's split into groups to get ready," he suggested. "Crys, Lyra, and White can handle the food."

"Sexist," Crys mumbled.

"And Gold, you can help," Red continued quickly. "Blue, Green and Silver, you three can buy anything we need from town."

"Woo! Shopping!" Blue exclaimed excitedly. Green and Silver reacted with far less enthusiasm.

"Dia and Pearl, you two should try to listen for anymore messages from Platina. You two are the closest to her, so it makes sense that you would be the ones that she would contact." I nodded seriously along with Pearl. "Ruby you can go deal with our outfits, Sapphire, you help him."

"What?" Sapphire exclaimed angrily. "Why do I have to help sissy boy?"

"Come on barbarian, we have clothes to find!" Ruby ordered with a smirk at Sapphire's misfortune.

"Black and I will start planning the expedition," Red continued once Ruby and Sapphire had left the room. "And Yellow, you need to find out how to get out of here from ChuChu."

"Who knew that behind that Pokémon obsessed exterior…and interior, that Red is actually a good leader," Blue said wonderingly.

Red seemed to take this as a compliment. All of us exchanged glances, then proceeded to do what Red told us.

Please Platina, send another message!

* * *

><p>Kitchen<p>

White POV

"Why are we making all the food," Crys wondered as she rhythmically chopped carrots. "Couldn't we just buy some from town?"

"But making food is so much more fun!" Gold enthused from his place sitting on the counter. Not helping. _At_ _all_.

"You're not even helping!" Crys yelled at him.

Gold just grinned in response and snatched one of the cookies off of the tray that I had just pulled out of the oven. Crys hit him with a rolling pin as punishment.

"So…" Crys muttered idly once Gold was unconscious on the floor. "There will be thirteen of us divided into five groups, that's three in three groups and two in two groups."

Thirteen? But…there are fourteen of us. "There are fourteen of us," I said, verbalizing my thoughts.

Crys looked at me sympathetically. "You're not coming White," she replied gently. "You don't have any magic so you'll just get in the way."

"But I have to go!" I wailed. "I have to help save Platina! It's all my fault she was kidnapped in the first place."

"I know you want to save her, but you'll slow us down," Lyra reasoned.

I didn't respond to her comment and continued to place small blobs of sticky dough onto a baking sheet. Once full I lifted it and crossed the room to the oven, where I noticed two Poké Balls sitting beside the oven. Gold's extra ones. I put the tray of cookies in the oven, saw that Lyra and Crys were facing the other way (Gold was still knocked out), then snuck one of the Poké Balls into my pocket. Gold would notice it was missing, but hopefully he'd take a while to wake up.

I went back to my station of making cookies trying to think of a way to leave without completely ditching Crys and Lyra. I found a way when Yellow entered the room.

"Yellow!" I greeted. "Would you mind taking my place for a bit? I have something I need to do." I ran out before she could agree.

If I can just find a Pokémon then I won't get in the way. If I find a Pokémon, then I can help save Platina.

* * *

><p>Town<p>

Blue POV

Green and Silver had been arguing the whole time we were here. I would suggest we get flashlights. They would agree but then they would both find different _brands_ of flashlight and have debates on why theirs was better. Normally I don't mind taking my time shopping, but one of my friends is in trouble and we don't have time for this.

"Boys!" I shouted, interrupting Silver mid-speech about why his brand of matches was better than Green's choice. "We're not getting anywhere like this. Silver, you take this half of the list and wear your hood so you won't be attacked by robots." I could tell he wanted to complain, but he knew better than anyone not to bother me when I'm in one of my serious moods. "Green, you and I will get everything on this half of the list."

Green took it for what it was, an order. "We'll meet you back at the dorm Silver," I said as we parted ways. "It's just you and me now!" I exclaimed to Green once Silver was out of earshot.

"Let's just get this over with," he grumbled. I grinned and linked my arm with his, dragging him down the street.

* * *

><p>Earlier<p>

Yellow POV

I was sitting on bed with ChuChu seated on my lap. "So do you remember?" I asked ChuChu after explaining everything that had happened.

ChuChu nodded. "I was on top of the bus, I saw everything. I remember getting in, because I thought we were going to crash. We drove straight at the wall, but instead of crashing into it, we went straight through!"

"Really?" I said excitedly. "Do you remember where we came in?" I didn't have very high hopes, since ChuChu was the one who managed to get me lost for three hours before.

"Yes! I actually _do _remember," ChuChu replied. "I remember because we came through the wall right behind the teacher's dorm."

"The teacher's dorm?" I repeated uneasily. That would make it a bit more difficult to slip out unnoticed. "Come on ChuChu, we should tell Red and Black." ChuChu nodded and we headed down the stairs.

Red and Black were deep in discussion about the best ways to get to the councils and where Team Galactic could possibly be.

Red looked up when I came down the stairs and grinned at me. "Hey Yellow!" he greeted. "Does ChuChu remember?"

"Ah, yes," I replied. "She said that the wall behind the teacher's dorm isn't actually solid."

"Really?" Black mused. "We'll have to make a plan to get past the dorm. They probably monitor that section of wall."

Red and Black got back into their discussion. I didn't feel like I was any help so I slipped into the kitchen to check on the others. Crys and Lyra were making sandwiches, Gold was unconscious on the floor and White was baking cookies. White turned at my sudden entrance and said, "Yellow! Would you mind taking my place for a bit? I have something I need to do." She was out the door before I could respond.

I sighed and grabbed an apron from the drawer. I guess I'm baking cookies now.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in MAGE<p>

White POV

I had been looking for a Pokémon for over an hour now. I figured that since Crys, Red and Gold had all found Pokémon that it wouldn't be too difficult, but I guess that was wishful thinking. I can't give up though, I owe it to Platina.

At this determined thought, I felt the ground underneath me give way. I didn't even have time to scream before I plummeted into the darkness.

I landed in a heap and had to gasp raggedly to get my breath back, but I didn't seem to be injured. I seemed to be in some sort of cave, but the only lighting was from the hole I fell through which was a ways above me which didn't illuminate very much.

"Hello?" I called into the cave.

"Tepig!" a high-pitch voice responded. The sound was accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps headed in my direction. I had barely gotten a look at the creature before I was tackled to the ground. The Pokémon was an orange and black pig, which I assumed to be a Tepig based off its call.

"Tep!" it said to me, nuzzling me.

"Nice to meet you," I greeted. "I'm White."

I fumbled around for my Poké Ball and got a hold of it. I gently touched the ball to the Tepig and it immediately popped open sucking the Tepig inside. The ball started shaking in my hands and I grasped it closer to myself in panic. Eventually the shaking stopped and I nervously pressed the small button on the ball. It popped open and the Tepig…_My _Tepig came out.

"Tepig," it said happily.

"I'm going to call you Bubu!" I told it excitedly. Bubu smiled excitedly at me. I basked in my glory for a few more minutes, then realized I was still at the bottom of a cave. "Do you know the way out of here?" I asked Bubu hopefully. Thankfully, she nodded. "Please lead the way," I requested. Bubu nodded excitedly and took off through the cave. I followed her as best I could in the dark.

* * *

><p>Excerpt from the <em>MAGE Handbook:<em>

Illusion Magic

Illusion magic allows the mage to create illusions. Beginner illusion mages can only create visual illusions, but more advanced mages can create auditory illusions, and the most advanced mages can actually create illusory objects that can be felt.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I don't particularly like how this chapter ends, but I'm posting anyway. The next chapter is going to be a direct continuation of this chapter anyway. Hopefully I'll be able to get that up soon, but I don't know how busy I'm going to be with Christmas. So if I don't get a chapter up next week, Happy Holidays everyone :)**


	14. Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

**Author Note:**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews :) They really make my day :D Anyway, this chapter is actually early, so yay! I got really excited and ended up finishing way earlier than I thought I was. Anyways I hope you enjoy it :)**

**In this chapter the clothes Ruby made are just their usual outfits in the Manga (Lyra is in her game outfit) so I didn't bother to explain them in much detail. Side note, I didn't know Yellow's boots were purple until I looked it up for this. **

**And the title's from Shakespeare. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow<p>

Sapphire POV

"No!" I screamed. "I am _not_ wearing this!" I held the offending outfit as far from me as possible, then deciding that that wasn't far enough, I hurled it across the room. Ruby had forced me into helping him sort out the clothes he made for us all and had given me mine, but to my horror, it was a short dress filled with more ruffles and sparkles than should have been possible.

Ruby sniggered at my reaction "That was actually for one of White's commercials; I just wanted to see how you'd react. Here's your real outfit." He handed me a much more sensible outfit and put the ruffle-filled monstrosity away. My actual outfit was a pair of black shorts, a red short sleeved shirt and a red bandana.

"I made our outfits match!" Ruby said excitedly holding up his outfit for me to see which, as he claimed, was identical to mine, except that he had long pants and I had shorts.

"What, why?"

"Why not?" he replied airily. "Go change," he ordered shoving me into his bathroom and closing the door behind me. The outfit actually did look comfortable, and I wouldn't have to wear a skirt for once, so I did what Ruby said, loathe as I was to do anything he told me to do. My new outfit fit amazingly well. Maybe he actually does have a weird sixth tailor sense…

"Are you done yet?" Ruby asked impatiently from the other room. At his urging, I left the bathroom and saw that he had changed as well. I noticed he was still wearing his hat instead of a bandana like I was and decided to question him again.

"So, why didn't you get a new hat?" I demanded.

"I did," he replied.

"No ya didn't! I can see ya're still wearin' the same one!"

"It's slightly different! See," he gestured at the white spikes on it. "These are shorter."

I examined them, but I couldn't tell the difference. He took advantage of my silence to start examining my clothes.

"Stop!" I yelled, pushing him away when he started pulling on my sleeves.

"They look nice on you!" he exclaimed undeterred. "How do they feel?"

I blushed at his unexpected compliment and stared at the floor. "They're fine…" I muttered, unwilling to give him a compliment.

"Let's go hand these out to the others," Ruby suggested lifting the other outfits and handing half to me. I followed him down the stairs, convincing myself that I was blushing out of anger.

* * *

><p>Dorm<p>

Red POV

Black and I had been discussing different ways to warn the councils and find Platina, but it was extremely difficult as we didn't actually know where Platina or any of the councils _were_. The councils keep their location a secret for safety reasons, but right now that was proving to be a major problem. Since we were getting nowhere, we moved on to deciding the groups.

"Someone from the region should be in each group," Black was saying. "They'll know the region better than others which will be helpful in getting around."

I nodded. "That seems like a good idea," I agreed.

"You and Green should handle the Kanto and Johto league," Black stated. "You two are the most powerful, so it shouldn't matter that there's only two of you. And you're both from Kanto."

I nodded and replied, "I guess you'll be going to Unova. Other than White you're the only one from there." Black nodded in response.

At this point in our planning process Ruby and Sapphire walked down the stairs, their arms full of clothing. Sapphire dropped the clothes unfeelingly on the table, much to Ruby's chagrin. Ruby gently placed his pile down, then hurriedly straightened up the mess Sapphire had made. Once done he picked out two outfits and held them out towards us.

"Here are your special made outfits!" he exclaimed.

I grabbed mine and examined it. "Isn't this just a black T-shirt, a red jacket and jeans?" I asked.

"A _tailor-made _T-shirt, jacket and jeans," Ruby corrected. I looked over at Black's outfit and saw that it was a fitted blue jacket and cargo pants.

"What are you waiting for?" Ruby wondered annoyed. "Go put them on!" Black and I both jumped at his shout and ran for our rooms to get changed.

* * *

><p>Town<p>

Green POV

"We don't have time for this Blue," I grumbled. "We have to get back to the dorm." We had bought everything on our half of the list almost twenty minutes ago, but Blue was _still_ shopping.

Blue simply fiddled with the small Squirtle figurine she had been looking at in silence. After a bit of this she finally replied, "I know. This is the last shopping trip I'm going to get in a while and I just wanted to enjoy it." She gazed at me with a sad smile.

Great. Now I feel guilty. "How much is that?" I relented pointing at the figurine.

Blue immediately cheered up. "Ten dollars!" She exclaimed, handing it to me. "Hee Hee I knew I could get you to buy it for me!"

I considered handing it back to her and refusing to pay, but by now I had learned that there was no point. If I didn't buy it for her she'd just steal my wallet anyway. Once I had paid and given it back to her I demanded, "Can we go _now_?"

"Fine," she said theatrically.

* * *

><p>Kitchen<p>

Crys POV

"We're finally done," Lyra sighed in relief as we she placed the last sandwich in one of the bags. "But I wonder where White went…"

"Yeah, it was odd how she just left like that," I agreed. "Thanks for helping Yellow."

"No problem," she replied with a smile. "I like cooking anyway."

"You were a lot more help than that slacker," I commented gesturing at Gold who was still lying unconscious on the ground. Maybe I hit him a _bit _too hard.

"Is he going to be okay?" Yellow wondered.

"He's fine."

"He deserved it," Lyra agreed. Leaving Gold on the floor, we wandered over to the living room and were immediately harassed by Ruby.

"Put these on!" he commanded while thrusting clothes at us. I instinctively grabbed the clothes and headed up to my room. I find its best not to fight with Ruby about clothes.

My outfit consisted of black biker shorts, a red tank top and a white jacket. It all fit perfectly of course, somehow he just _knows…_

Once I had finished changing I went back downstairs and found Lyra and Yellow in their new outfits as well.

Lyra was wearing a pair of overalls over a red, long-sleeved shirt and Yellow was now clothed in a short, orange dress over a long-sleeved black shirt and jeans.

"So I couldn't help but notice you didn't give us and new shoes. We're stuck wearing the school ones huh?" Lyra asked.

"Ha! I was just waiting for someone to notice," Ruby replied gleefully. "Of _course_ I got new shoes for you all! I'll go get them." Ruby disappeared a few seconds later and returned with his arms full of shoes. He placed them on the floor then started throwing them at people. I caught a pair of white and red boots and quickly put them on before Ruby could yell at me again.

Lyra caught some red flats along with what looked to be knee length socks. "Oooh! I love shoes!" she exclaimed as she put them on. Yellow was now wearing purple boots and Red and Black had both gotten sneakers. Ruby himself and Sapphire were wearing matching red shoes.

"Why do you two match?" I wondered idly, noticing that they were clad very similarly.

Sapphire glared at me and growled, "No idea." Okay…I won't ask about _that _again.

"We're baaack!" Blue's voice sang as she and Green entered through the door. Shoes and clothes were instantly thrown at them. Green caught his, but Blue dodged and hers ended up scattered across the floor. "Ah! My new outfit!" she exclaimed and she hurriedly collected it than dashed upstairs. Probably to change.

Green stared at the clothes in his hands with a confused expression.

"Put them on!" Ruby roared. Green actually jumped slightly and made his way upstairs at a faster than normal pace. Blue returned a few seconds later clad in a white shirt and red skirt which matched her usual white and red sunhat. Gold wandered in as Blue was posing and I noticed he was already in a new outfit: a red hoody and yellow shorts.

"How did I get in these," he wondered.

"Ya don't want to know," Sapphire replied ominously.

This just made Gold even more curious, but before he could pursue it, Green returned, now wearing a black shirt and…purple cargo pants. "Why am I wearing purple?" he demanded angrily.

"It suits your calm attitude," Ruby replied sarcastically, surveying everyone. "They look great!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, he picked up another pile of clothes and hurled it towards the door where it hit a startled Silver in the face. "Put them on!"

Silver edged around Ruby and made his way upstairs. "Ruby's terrifying when it comes to clothes," Red mused. Yellow nodded her head vigorously. At this point there were only two outfits left on the table.

"Those are…" I started.

"White's and Platina's" Ruby finished. "I gave Dia and Pearl theirs earlier."

As if summoned, the two came down as their names were spoken. Both were wearing jeans and wearing different color scarves. Dia's was red and Pearl's was green. Dia wore a red coat while Pearl sported an orange and white striped shirt.

"We haven't gotten any word from Platina," Dia reported sadly. "We've been trying to contact her but…"

"Don't give up hope," Red encouraged. "I'm sure she'll contact you again!" I don't think either Dia or Pearl believed him, but they smiled anyway.

Silver skulked back down the stairs at this point wearing a…well _sinister_ looking outfit. Needless to say it suited him very well.

"Well, we're all here now so we should get going," Black said to the group as Silver leaned against a wall

"Huh? But what about White?" Yellow asked.

"We're going without her," I answered.

"She really wants to come with us, but she'll get hurt out there with no powers," Lyra elaborated. "We thought it would be easier for her if we just…didn't say goodbye."

"We'll be back anyway and we can apologize to her then!" Red said cheerfully.

"The teachers are having their annual meeting tonight, so the wall should be clear," Black informed.

"This seems _way_ too easy," I commented. Blue nodded in agreement.

"If it seems simple its usually not," cautioned Silver.

"Well there's only one way to find out," Red said. "But before we go, I have a few words to say to you all." He cleared his throat and began.

"We will travel across the land, searching far and wide. It's you and me. It's our destiny!"

This seems awfully familiar…

"You're my best friends, in a world we must defend. Our hearts are true and our courage will pull us through."

"Red!" Blue interrupted. "That's just a slightly reworded version of the Pokémon theme."

"Yeah, it's inspiring," he replied unfazed.

"I feel inspired!" Gold exclaimed while jumping up and down excitedly.

"Let's just get going," sighed Green exasperatedly.

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

We walked quickly and quietly to the section of wall behind the teacher's dorm. As Black had foreseen, we didn't run into any teachers and all the lights were off in the dorm, indicating that no one was inside.

Red walked up to the wall then gently touched it. It was solid.

"Maybe only a small part isn't real," Lyra suggested. We all walked over to the wall and joined Red in attempting to find a gap. So far with zero success.

"It's time for a new plan!" Gold exclaimed. He walked a few paces away from the wall then ran straight into it. If getting through the wall was his intention, he failed dramatically. Instead, he rebounded off and landed painfully on the ground. "Owww," he moaned, clutching his head.

"Well that was a stupid idea," Crys commented.

"The wall must need a password or something to open," Black theorized. "This is the correct spot right?"

"ChuChu is certain it is," Yellow confirmed after consulting with her squirrel friend.

"How can we guess a password? There's an infinite number of choices," Lyra despaired.

"Not an infinite number," I corrected. "Actually if I knew who put the password in place I might even be able to guess the password."

"It was put up years ago," Black replied. "I think we have a better chance trying to bypass it completely. Ruby, it may be an illusion, is there anything we can do to break it?"

"Solid illusions break when you apply enough force," Ruby answered. "Gold would have broken it if it was an illusion."

"What if it's not just one type of magic?" Yellow theorized.

"You mean there could be a wall of earth behind an illusion of a wall?" Red hypothesized.

Yellow nodded.

"If that's the case, I can help," Dia said excitedly. He lifted his hands and got a determined look on his usually easygoing face. He slowly lowered his hands, but it looked as if he was pushing down on something with them. Eventually his hands reached his sides. "If there was a ground wall behind that, I should have gotten rid of it," he stated.

Gold, who had gotten back up during this, yelled, "Alright!" Then he ran at the wall again, but this time he went straight through, the wall rippling subtly as he passed through.

"Well let's go!" I shouted when no one else made a move to follow him. They were probably still waiting to hear if he screamed in pain. I ran at the wall and passed through just as Gold had. The wall gave me an odd tingling sensation as I passed through, but it wasn't unpleasant and it soon passed. Soon I was through the wall where I almost ran straight into Gold. Luckily my thief instincts kicked in and I skidded around him. Gold quickly moved away from the wall after our near collision which was a good thing because the others came running through immediately after me.

"Okay, we're all through," Black confirmed. "I guess it's time to go. We've decided on the groups."

Red nodded and took over. "Green and I will handle the Kanto and Johto council by ourselves. Sapphire, Ruby and Yellow, you three will handle the Hoenn council. Silver and Lyra, you two are going to help Black with the Unova council. Pearl, Dia, Gold, Crys and Blue, all of you are going to Sinnoh. Platina and the Sinnoh council are there."

There was a moment of complete silence following his announcement were everyone realized that this was it. We were actually leaving and we might not see each other for a while. Then everyone simultaneously started their goodbyes.

I immediately ran over to Yellow and hugged her. "Bye Yellow. Be careful, and remember, Sapphire is a scary barbarian and it is completely fine to hide behind her."

Yellow laughed and hugged me back. "You be careful to Blue."

"Now go say goodbye to Red," I ordered, pushing her towards the aforementioned male.

"I shall miss you as well, Sapphire," I said when I noticed her standing right next to me, staring.

"Really?" she replied skeptically. "You just told Yellow to use me as a shield."

"Did I?" I asked in my patent innocent tone.

"I'll miss ya too," Sapphire finally said. Then we did an awkward I-went-for-a-hug and she-went-for-a-handshake which ended in her punching me in the stomach.

"Oww," I moaned as Sapphire laughed at me. And after I gave her such a touching farewell speech too. I stalked away from her and noticed Silver sulking away from the others so I headed towards him. "Are you sad we're not in the same group?" I goaded, putting my arm around him.

"No!" he refuted. "I'm upset because I'm with the smart guy and _Lyra_. Neither of them can fight so I'll have to defend _both_ of them."

I patted him on the head, ruffling his hair. "Don't worry Silver," I said reassuringly. "You're scary enough to frighten away pretty much anything that threatens you."

"I'll miss you Blue," Silver replied sincerely, much to the shock of those listening.

I patted him on the head one last time and replied, "Me too."

I left Silver and wandered over to Green. "So, are you going to miss me?" I pestered.

"Not even a little," he promptly responded.

"Liar. I know you will, so I'm giving you this," I said as I handed him the Squirtle figurine we had bought earlier that day. "Well, I'm letting you borrow it, I want it back."

"_I _was the one who bought this anyway," he complained.

"It's the thought that counts," I replied, winking from over my shoulder as I waltzed over to where the rest of my group was standing, my farewells over. Well, almost over. "Lyra!" I yelled. "Take care of Silver!" Silver looked offended at this, but Lyra nodded seriously at me.

"I will!" she replied.

* * *

><p>Dia POV<p>

"Dia, I want you to take this," Ruby said seriously. He handed me a bag. "This is Platina's outfit, I'm trusting you to bring it safely to her."

"I'll keep it safe for her," I replied equally serious.

"Really? Her outfit?" Pearl asked annoyed.

"She's probably stuck wearing horrible prison rags!" Ruby exclaimed, shuddering at the horrible thought. "After that she'll want these. Trust me."

"Whatever..." Pearl muttered.

I carefully folded the outfit and put it in my bag where it would be safe. I would make sure Platina got this. We _will _save her.

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

"Goodbye everyone," I said to the group in general opting out of the more mushy heartfelt goodbyes. Lyra was having none of it though.

She ran up and caught Dia and Pearl in a tight group hug. "Be safe guys," she pleaded. "And bring Platina back safe."

"We will!" Dia exclaimed.

Lyra let go of then and turned to me and Gold. "It's been really great knowing you," she said to me. "And Gold, well... It's been funny watching Crys beat you up. Be careful you guys."

"You too," I replied. Gold stuck his tongue out at her.

I sighed as Lyra wandered off and waited for everyone else to finish.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I slammed into Red thanks to Blue's 'gentle push.'

"Woah! careful Yellow," Red cautioned as he caught me.

"Heh heh sorry..." I replied awkwardly.

He waved my apology off and handed me a small red and white ball, "Here take this."

"One of your Poké Balls? But, I can't take that!"

"Of course you can. With this Kabuto will actually be your Pokemon." I glanced at Kabuto, who was perched on my shoulder, and it nodded. I held the Poké Ball up and it pressed the button in the center with one of its small yellow legs.

"Thank you Red," I said as the ball made a slight clicking sound, indicating that Kabuto was now my Pokémon.

"Be careful Yellow," he replied, then hugged me. I hugged him back and hoped dearly that we would both make it back. This _can't _be the last time I see Red. I won't let it be. We released each other and I felt a new determination fill me.

"See you later Red," I said confidently. "We'll definitely both make it back."

"I look forward to it," he responded. I left him with a final wave and stood next to Sapphire and Ruby, ready to start our journey.

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

"We'll meet back here when we're done," Red said. We all nodded and finally turned to leave. It's only been two months and these people are already my best friends. I'll miss them.

As we all started going our different ways we heard a loud shout of "Wait!"

We all whirled around defensively expecting a teacher or other authority figure, but instead we saw White.

"I caught a Tepig," she proclaimed, holding a Poké Ball in front of her proudly. "I can help now. I'm going with the group to save Platina."

Instead of making a remark pertinent to the situation, Gold simply asked, "Where did you get that outfit?"

It _was _different from the school uniform; a denim vest, white T-shirt and jeans shorts. "Oh this? I found it sitting on the table in the dorm," she replied.

"I left it there for her," Ruby clarified.

"Yeah, thanks for the note Ruby," White said. "I wouldn't have been able to find you otherwise."

"You left her a note?" Green asked accusingly.

"I didn't want to just leave her without saying goodbye," Ruby defended. "I didn't know she'd make it all the way out here."

"_Any_way, you caught a Pokémon?" Crys queried, bringing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

"Yeah!" White replied excitedly as she pulled a Poké Ball out of her bag and threw it on the ground. A burst of red light swirled out of the ball and coalesced into a Tepig.

"Tepig!" Red shouted, and would have run over to it, but Green held him back.

"Wait…You stole my Poké Ball!" Gold accused, pointing at White.

White laughed nervously, "Yeah…Uh sorry."

Gold folded his arms and glared at her. "Thief," he muttered.

"Hey…How come there are so many Pokémon hanging around our school?" Sapphire wondered.

"That's actually a really good question, but we don't have time for this," Black interrupted. "The longer we delay the more likely that something horrible happens to Platina."

"Let's go then!" Pearl exclaimed.

"I'm coming too!" White shouted.

Black looked conflicted for a moment, then said, "Fine. You're going with the Sinnoh group." He gestured towards where my group was standing.

"Thanks Black," White replied.

"Be careful Boss."

"You too."

And this time we went our separate ways without interruption. There's no turning back now.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I hope you liked it :)**

**So the chapters from now on will probably focus on one group, then the next chapter will be about a different group (It will cycle through them) Any preferences on which one I start with? **

**Just to recap, these are the groups:**

**Kanto/Johto**: Red, Green

**Hoenn**: Sapphire, Ruby, Yellow

**Sinnoh**: Pearl, Dia, Blue, Gold, Crys, White

**Unova**: Black, Silver, Lyra


	15. The Five Step Plan

**Author Note:**

**Phew, this chapter is finally up. I've been super busy, anyway I hope you all had a great New Year! And thank you for reviewing :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: The Five Step Plan<p>

Somewhere in Hoenn

Yellow POV

"Yes it _is!_" Sapphire screamed at Ruby.

"No it is _not_!" he shouted back.

"Sissy boy!"

"Barbarian!"

I sighed and covered my ears, trying to block them out. As to what they were arguing about, I have absolutely no idea. They had begun arguing the moment we left, and when I had managed to interrupt them to ask where we were going they just started _another _argument. And even worse, we never actually agreed on where we are going. I'm pretty sure we're just following this path…hopefully it's going in a useful direction.

A particularly loud protest from Sapphire made me flinch and I removed one of my hands from its place covering my ears and reached into my pocket to fiddle with the object there. It was a small note card that Blue had given me. One I was sure I would never use. Ever. But this was getting ridiculous. I argued with myself for a few moments, but ultimately decided against it. My hand returned to my ear and I returned to trying to block them out. They'd have to get tired of this eventually…right?

* * *

><p>2 hours later<p>

It was so bad ChuChu had deserted me and fled to the woods to hide from their argument. Kabuto had retreated to his Poké Ball and I was getting more and more certain that I was going to have to use Blue's 'secret plan.' There was still a small hope inside me that they might stop, but it was quickly dying.

I was considering Blue's plan when I felt someone grab me from behind. I turned to face whoever it was, when I was pushed to the ground. When I reoriented myself, I came face to face with a huge green dragon. It had small arms (compared to its body anyway, compared to me the arms were huge) and its green hide was decorated with blue and red shapes. I stared at it in complete shock for a few moments, then was hit by a realization. I had seen this creature before! On one of Red's Pokémon cards. Rayquaza.

"_Greetings Human," _the giant beast said. It wasn't really speaking though, it was as if it was invading my mind, placing its thoughts there for me to hear. I guess most of how I spoke to animals and Pokémon worked like that, but I had never felt a voice so…overpowering. I was completely at its mercy.

"_As I'm sure you've noticed, we are returning. Have the humans evolved over our three hundred year exodus? You know the consequences if you haven't."_

"Wha-what are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"_We left three hundred years ago for you to grow into a better society, surely you haven't forgotten?" _Rayquaza spat angrily.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I repeated nervously. "We don't have any written history from three hundred years ago! It was destroyed in the war."

"_Regardless, our deal still stands. If your kind doesn't live up to our expectations this time, things will get…rather worse for you. I will be watching you." _With those ominous words the great dragon lifted off again and disappeared into the sky.

I stared after it in horror, then quickly turned to consult with Ruby and Sapphire only to find that they weren't there. They hadn't even noticed I wasn't following them. I guess that settles it, Blue's plan is the only way.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, innocuous note card with the words 'Blue's plan to get two people together in five steps (Frantic edition)' written in small curly letters on the top. I began reading the steps, which would actually be for the first time since I had never gotten past the title before.

'Step One: Force them to agree about something then make them think it was all their own idea.'

…How am I supposed to do that? Why would that even help anyway? Maybe the next step will make more sense.

'Step Two: Find out about their shared past, then exploit it.'

That makes _even_ less sense. How does Blue even know that they have a shared past? Or am I supposed to make one up…? I continued reading, hoping that it would become clearer.

'Step Three: Find a romantic location and leave them there by themselves.'

This is not helpful Blue…

'Step Four: Stalk them during the date (make sure to take lots of pictures for me) and shove them into each other so they accidentally kiss!'

The chances of that actually happening are so slim. Does she actually know what she's doing? These don't sound as professional as I was expecting…

'Step Five: Sit back and watch!'

At the bottom there was a small note, which, having come this far, I read.

'I know you're doubting me Yellow, but trust me. It will work.'

I scoffed at that last line. No way that plan would work, it was completely ridiculous! Although… those two _are _easily fooled. I guess if it was going to work on anyone it would work on them…

"Yellow!" Sapphire called out. I quickly hid the note card in my pocket and turned to see Sapphire and Ruby running towards me. They must have finally realized I was gone.

"What happened? Why did you stop?" Ruby asked anxiously.

"There was this giant Pokémon, Rayquaza," I answered, remembering the frightening encounter. "It was saying all this weird stuff about the return of Pokémon…"

"A giant Pokémon?" Ruby repeated skeptically.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "It flew right up to me and knocked me over."

"I think we would've noticed a giant flying Pokémon," Sapphire stated.

Ruby nodded in agreement. "We're not _that _oblivious," they said in unison.

After getting over the fact that they were ganging up on me, I realized that it was actually a good thing. They were agreeing about something, so I could put step one into action…though I don't think this is quite what Blue meant.

"So you both agree I didn't see Rayquaza?" I ventured.

"Yes!" they exclaimed. I waited for something magical and romantic to happen, but nothing did. I sighed. Well thanks Blue. That just made me look like an idiot.

"So where are we going?" I asked again, changing the subject.

"We should go see my papa," Sapphire responded, actually answering my question this time. "He's a famous professor and he's met with the council. Hopefully he knows where their base is." Ruby looked extremely uncomfortable as he heard this. Step two flashed through my mind. No…they don't actually have a shared past do they? That's just…scary. How would Blue know?

"Ya alright Yellow?" Sapphire queried. I jerked up, and nodded vigorously, tearing myself from thoughts of Blue. After all, the most important thing is to not let them know what you're doing. According to Blue anyway. But…I still have to figure out what their past is… And I have to figure out what Rayquaza was talking about…by myself since Ruby and Sapphire don't believe me. I sighed, and not for the first time, wished that Red was there with me. He would have believed me.

When Ruby and Sapphire were walking in front of me and arguing yet again, I pulled out the small flashcard again. I pulled it out backwards and was about to flip it over when I noticed that there was writing on the back as well. It stated: 'Here's my phone number!' Under that statement was written the words 'Shipping Hotline' and next to that was a seven digit number, which I would realize much later spelled out SHIPPER when translated into letters.

Well, I need to find a cell phone. But how does Blue have a number? She definitely didn't have a phone at MAGE. After a few moments of contemplation I gave up and figured it was just a 'Blue thing.'

* * *

><p>MAGE<p>

Wally POV

I lived my life in a rather normal way, as normal as it gets for a mage anyway. I didn't go searching for trouble like Silver did, or create trouble like Lyra, I was content to enjoy my life without drama. However, when Lyra, Silver, Dia, Pearl _and _Platina all failed to show up at the dorm and class for five whole days I grew concerned and started to investigate.

The more I looked, the more worried I became. It wasn't just my housemates that were missing; the entire dorm of newcomers had gone missing. The teachers were downplaying it, but I knew that something was off.

"Hey Emerald," I said to my crazy-haired friend when he arrived back at our dorm. "What do you think happened to everyone?"

"Who cares?" he replied callously. "They're always getting into trouble anyway." His words were harsh, but I knew that it was just a mask to hide his worry for them.

"Why don't we look for them?" I suggested. "We could start at Ruby and Sapphire's dorm." I hoped that the mention of his classmates would get his attention, and it did. He glanced up at the mention of their names and grudgingly agreed.

We quickly walked to short distance between our dorms and entered their building. The inside was dark and tidy, which seemed suspicious by itself. I didn't know any of them that well, but from what I'd heard about them most weren't neat freaks. The only thing that seemed out of place was a small note sitting on the coffee table. Emerald flicked the lights on and we walked over to the note.

Emerald picked up the letter and at my impatient stare, he began to read it aloud.

"White, we're all leaving to rescue Platina. We're probably leaving through the gap behind the teachers' dorm right now! Anyway, we didn't say goodbye so that our leaving would be less difficult for you, but I wanted to make sure that you knew that we're still friends. The outfit this is sitting on is yours. I'm sure it will fit perfectly, everything I make does. – Ruby."

"They…left MAGE?" I wondered incredulously.

"What happened to Platina?" Emerald murmured equally confused. His confused face suddenly turned adventurous and I got an extremely bad feeling. "Let's go Wally! We can follow them!"

Yep…I knew that was coming. Before I could protest he had grabbed me by the arm and was dragging me away from the dorm towards the teachers' dorm. Somehow we weren't seen, but I have no idea how. We weren't hiding (actually we were doing the opposite, Emerald's hair _always _stands out and I was protesting the whole way) and it was the middle of the day. But maybe that very fact is why we weren't seen, maybe everyone actually went to class for once…regardless, we arrived at the section of wall behind the teachers' dorm undisturbed.

"What now?" I asked Emerald, having given up stopping him.

"We go through!" Emerald announced, gesturing at the wall heroically. He walked confidently up to the wall and placed one of his hands upon the wall. It went straight through.

"Wow," I said in awe. "There really _is _a gap here."

Emerald nodded and the rest of his body followed his hand through the wall. Once he reached the other side he called back to me, "Come on!" I did as he asked and had no trouble going through the wall, which was odd in and of itself. Shouldn't such an obvious hole in the school security be guarded more closely?

"Come on Wally!" Emerald ordered, pulling me from my thoughts. "Let's go!"

"Uh…but where are we going?" I replied.

Emerald stopped suddenly. "…I didn't actually think about that."

"We don't have any supplies either," I pointed out.

I thought he was going to turn back for a second, but his face became determined. "No!" he shouted. "We don't need supplies, they already have a huge head start on us, we can't waste any more time.

"We still don't know where they went," I protested weakly.

Emerald closed his eyes, spun around then stopped and pointed in front of him. "We're going this way!" he declared. Luckily there was a path the way he picked. Hopefully that's a good sign.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in Hoenn<p>

Ruby POV

We had been heading steadily towards Sapphire's father's house, or as I liked to think of it, my doom. It was pretty likely that Prof. Birch would recognize me, and when he did I'd have a _lot_ of explaining to do to Sapphire. Which was something I _really _didn't feel like doing.

"FINALLY!" Sapphire suddenly exclaimed. I jumped and glanced around to find the source of her comment, then realized we had reached a city.

"Wow," Yellow commented from behind me. "It's so…big." I vaguely remembered her mentioning being from a forest and realized maybe she hadn't actually _been _to a large city before. It felt like home to me though, after all I'm from Goldenrod which is a big city itself.

"Where are we?" I wondered idly.

"Rustboro City," Yellow answered. Wait. Yellow? Sapphire seemed confused as well.

"How'd ya know?" Sapphire asked in awe. Yellow simply pointed at a large sign sitting next to us that proclaimed in large red letters 'Rustboro City, the city probing the integration of nature and science.'

"Oh…" I said, embarrassed that I hadn't noticed it myself. Yellow scanned the stores and seemed to see something interesting.

"There's something I need to do," she explained. "Can we meet back here in a little while?"

"Yeah! I need something to eat anyway!" Sapphire enthused.

So we split up, but somehow Sapphire and I ended up at the same café seated at the same table… I think the universe hates me. "How did this happen?" I wondered aloud as I sipped my hot chocolate.

Sapphire shrugged seeming equally confused, "The waitress said something about a tour group…"

Oh. They thought we were together because I made our outfits match. Why did I do that anyway? What was I thinking?

We finished eating in silence and exited the restaurant where a large man with odd black sideburns and a blue bandanna bumped into Sapphire.

"Watch your step _girl,_" he spat.

"You ran into her!" I snapped back, for some reason extremely angry at his accusation

The man turned and glared at me. I saw into his eyes…and what I saw scared me, this was no ordinary person. There was something…off about him. I grabbed Sapphire's arm and hurried away.

"Ruby, what are ya doin?" Sapphire complained.

"Yeah _Ruby, _where are you going?" the frightening man asked as he followed us. "I recognize runaway mages when I see them."

That declaration stopped me (and thus, Sapphire) in my tracks.

"My name is Archie," the man continued. "I lead a group called Team Aqua. We employ mages to further our goal of expanding the seas, if you help us I can protect you from the government."

"We don't want to help you," I rejected, slowly backing away.

"Is that so," the man replied. "Then I'm afraid things are going to turn out very badly for you." With that ominous statement the man turned away from us and entered the café.

"What was that about?" Sapphire wondered.

"No idea, but it wasn't good."

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I left Ruby and Sapphire when we entered the city because I saw a cell phone store. I really needed to talk to someone _other _than Ruby and Sapphire, and besides, I had to discuss Blue's 'shipping instructions' with her anyway. The store was extremely confusing and was filled with so many different phones I couldn't keep track of them. I ended up getting the cheapest one when I realized I didn't actually get that much money from MAGE and escaped from the salespeople who tried to get me to buy phone accessories.

I left the store and started imputing the number Blue wrote down, but I was interrupted by a masculine voice next to me.

"A runaway mage eh?" he said. I whirled towards the voice and beheld a man bedecked in red with hair to match. "My name is Maxie."

I just stared at him in silence.

"I am the leader of Team Magma, a group devoted to expanding the land. Mages are very useful for our goal, and I'd be willing to take you in, in exchange for your help."

He said the words as if he was offering me a great opportunity, but I also perceived a threat behind his words. Not to mention he sounded insane, expanding the land? What does that even mean?

"S-sorry," I stammered. "I have other things to do." I dashed away from him and started searching for Ruby and Sapphire. I had to warn them, plus I really didn't want to be alone with that guy again.

I literally ran into them by the sign where we first entered.

"Woah!" Sapphire exclaimed as she barely avoided falling over. Ruby wasn't so lucky and was hurriedly dusting off his clothes that had been in contact with the ground.

"Guys! I met this really creepy man over there!" I said gesturing generally towards the store.

"We did too!" Sapphire exclaimed, but she was gesturing in the other direction towards a café.

"He said something about 'making the land bigger.'"

"He wanted to enlarge the seas."

"And he said his name was Maxie."

"And he said his name was Archie!"

"Wait," Ruby interrupted our simultaneous accounts. "Yellow, you met a man named Maxie." I nodded. "And we met a man named Archie. There are _two _crazy people in this city and we managed to meet _both _of them?"

"Maybe we should leave," I suggested. The original plan was to stay at the inn in the first city we got to (this one), but I didn't feel safe here anymore knowing those weirdos were out there.

Ruby sighed, "Yeah, that seems sensible. I was really looking forward to stopping though." He looked towards the inn longingly.

"Suck it up sissy boy!" Sapphire yelled, slapping Ruby on the back so hard her stumbled forward a few steps. "Let's head to Petalburg City. One step closer to seeing Papa again!"

Ruby made an uneasy look at the mention of Sapphire's dad and I was convinced that Blue was actually right. Oh Blue! I need to call her, I felt for my phone, and to my relief, it was in my pocket. I was worried I might have dropped it in my panic at meeting Maxie. Unfortunately I couldn't call her until I was alone, after all the main subject matter was walking right in front of me. But it can wait until Petalburg City, what could possibly happen between now and then anyway?

The three of us trekked onwards into Petalburg Forest and I felt a sense of peace encompass me, despite the arguing duo in front of me. I was always nervous in cities and wide open places, forests were the place I always felt the most comfortable. The three of us walked onward. Towards Petalburg City and one step closer to Prof. Birch.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to the trio, they were being followed. Not by one person, two people, or even three people. The trio was being tailed by <em>four <em>people. One was dressed all in blue, thoughts of the sea in his head. The second was dressed in red, his head filled of wishes for more land. The third man had an intimidating expression and he seemed oddly fixated on Ruby…The fourth, well the fourth person was a woman, her outfit displaying a large G very prominently on the front.

But our three heroes were blissfully unaware of their followers and they continued through the forest, two continuously arguing and one trailing along behind. They would soon find out though, but in a most unfortunate way.


	16. Hanging out in Hearthome City

**Author Note:**

**Thanks for all the reviews everyone :) You guys are awesome! This story is at 93 reviews right now, so it's almost 100! Yay! I feel like I should do something special, but I'm not sure. I'll think about it… In the meantime, enjoy adventures of the Sinnoh group, though this is sort of a filler. I felt like it was needed though, so here it is. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: Hanging out in Hearthome City<p>

Somewhere in Sinnoh

Blue POV

I need to acquire a phone. Eventually Yellow will get fed up enough to read my shipping plan, find my cell phone number and will want to call me. And fortunately for me, we had finally reached a city. After almost a _week _of camping out in the woods, a city was a great relief.

"Hearthome City?" Dia said confused.

"How did we get here?" Pearl yelled.

"What's wrong with being here?" Gold wondered.

"Hearthome City, it's right in the middle of Sinnoh," Crys explained. "There's no way we should have gotten here without going through another city first."

"Then how _did _we get here?" I mused. Crys just shrugged in response.

"Unicorns," Gold answered promptly. Crys whacked him on the back of the head. Gold whined and rubbed the back of his head.

Oh those two. So adorable. Mwah hah hahahaha!

"Blue…" Crys started uneasily. "Why are you laughing?"

Oops, I guess I laughed out loud and not just in my head. "No reason," I replied innocently.

They all stared at me suspiciously, I just grinned innocently back at them. Then I caught sight of something behind them. A phone store. "I'll be right back guys!" I yelled as I sprinted towards it.

An amazing sight greeted me upon opening the door. The store was filled wall to wall with all different types of phones. Naturally, I went to the most expensive ones first. A particularly fancy smart phone caught my eye. I checked the price tag…nope can't afford that one. It's not like that's going to stop me though.

I staked out the different people in the store and found a few potential targets. One man was wearing a fancy suit and carrying a briefcase. Pretty much everything about him screamed 'rob me!' So I "accidentally" bumped into him. During the brief contact I slipped my hand into his pocket and removed his wallet. Easy as pie.

"Excuse me," I said to a salesman. "I'd like this one please." I pointed at the nice smart phone I had had my eye on. "Oh, and extremely important, it has to have this number." I slipped him a piece of paper with the number I had given Yellow.

The man checked a few things on the computer and replied, "That number is taken. I'm sorry."

"I have to have that number," I repeated.

"It's taken, there's nothing I can do about it."

"I NEED THAT NUMBER!" I glared at the man and refused to back down. He started to look scared and pressed a few more keys on his computer.

"Yes, of course you can have that number, here," he thrust the phone at me and quickly walked off to help someone else.

I left the store to the pained cry of "Where's my wallet!" Snickering to myself, I slipped away into the crowd.

* * *

><p>Crys POV<p>

Once Blue had run off we started discussing how we had gotten here again. "How did we manage to _not _go through any cities on the way here?" I asked aloud.

"We went around them," Dia replied idly.

"How did we go around them?" Pearl yelled.

"Well, when we got close to Snowpoint City Gold wanted to go skiing and we skied right past it. Then instead of following the road we hiked over the mountains."

"_Also_ because of Gold," I cut in.

"And so we skipped Celestic Town and Solaceon Town."

'Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Pearl yelled, punching Dia.

"Oww…" Dia moaned.

"How come _you _didn't know we went around all those cities," I demanded of Pearl.

"I'm directionally challenged okay!" Pearl exploded.

"I'm surprised that hungry guy knew all that…" Gold said awed.

"He's actually a lot smarter than he looks," Pearl commented. Of course this comment came just as Dia was chasing after a person carrying a basket of bread.

* * *

><p>White POV<p>

We had arrived at Hearthome City after a long, long, _long, _hike/camping trip and so we were finally taking a break. Dia had immediately run off to eat (no surprise there), Blue had gone…somewhere, and the other three were off replenishing our supplies. I had decided that it was time for Bubu and I to train. Luckily this city had a beautiful park which would be an excellent place to train. I found an empty area and released Bubu from her Poké Ball.

"Alright Bubu," I said excitedly. "It's time to train." Bubu squealed excitedly and bounced up and down.

"Okay, um…so…uh…Tackle?" I commanded uneasily. I was never really a Pokémon fan, so I wasn't actually sure what to do. Luckily the boy who sat next to me _was _a Pokéfan and loved playing Pokémon cards at his desk. He had hosted so many battles, I remembered some of the moves he had used.

Fortunately, my memory didn't fail me as Bubu immediately ran headfirst at the random rock I had pointed at as I said the word 'Tackle.' Bubu smacked into the wall with an audible _thwack, _but the rock was still standing. Rubbing her head, Bubu walked back to me seeming a bit depressed.

"Don't worry Bubu," I encouraged. "That looks like a really sturdy rock anyway. Let's try that one!" I gestured to a smaller, more fragile looking rock. "Now Bubu, Tackle!"

Bubu once again sprinted towards the target, and once again, Bubu was the one left damaged.

"Okay," I said trying not to get discouraged. "Let's try another move. Um…Flamethrower!"

Bubu looked at me confusedly and cocked its head to the side.

"Okay, so you obviously don't know that one…er Tail Whip?"

Bubu jumped up and shook her small black tail at the rock.

"So that one's not effective versus inanimate objects, that's good to know," I smiled at Bubu encouragingly. Bubu stared at me disbelievingly. "I'm sorry Bubu, it's not your fault. It's mine. I just don't know enough to give you the right orders." Bubu nuzzled up to me comfortingly, then turned towards the rock again. She breathed in and shot flames at the rock. She looked at me expectantly.

"So, that move was…um," I thought back to my days at school and the nerd who sat next to me. "Ember?" I guessed.

Bubu nodded excitedly. Finally we're getting somewhere.

* * *

><p>Dia POV<p>

Hearthome City had a beautiful park, which was also an idyllic setting for my current snack. I relaxed on a bench and watched people walk past as I munched on a sandwich happily. I felt eyes boring into my head, but I just ignored it. Pearl and Silver gave me evil looks so often I was used to disregarding them anyway. When it persisted for longer than usual I finally turned around to see who was staring at me. What I saw was not what I was expecting.

It was a Munchlax, and being a fan of the Pokémon anime I knew of course that Munchlax were always hungry. It wasn't staring at me; it was staring at my sandwich. I broke off a portion of my sandwich and placed it on the ground in front of me. The Munchlax stared at the sandwich for a few seconds, then ran towards me and devoured it. After it had finished it stared at me with shining eyes.

I patted the creature on the head and gave it a little more of my sandwich. Finally, I've met someone who eats just as much as I do. We're going to be best friends!

* * *

><p>Gold POV<p>

I had started off with Pearl and Crys helping them pick out supplies, but now I was in the official Pokémon store. It was filled with more Pokémon merchandise than even _Red _could imagine. I walked around, examining the objects on the shelves. There were different figurines, but the thing that really caught my eye were the life size replica Poké Balls, and even though I had two real ones (White stole my third one) I still wanted them. Since I've never been one for self-control, I went ahead and bought a few.

I left the store and met up with Crys (who was a _bit_ angry at me for ditching) and Pearl.

"Ah you're back. Just in time for us to be finished shopping," Crys commented annoyed.

"Perfectly timed!" I exclaimed. Crys huffed angrily and stormed past me. Pearl and I followed her.

We got back to the center square and met up with Blue, who was on the phone, White and Dia, who had a Munchlax latched onto his shoulder.

"Munchlax?" I wondered pointing at the creature. Dia nodded, but didn't elaborate.

"Gold, give him your Poké Ball," Crys ordered.

"What! But I only have one left since _someone," _I glared at White pointedly and she adopted a guilty expression. "Stole my other one," I finished.

Crys glared at me and raised her fist threateningly. I quickly pulled out a Poké Ball and gave it to Dia. The Munchlax, probably assuming that if it stuck with Dia it would get a lot of food, opened the Poké Ball and caught itself. Which wasn't actually supposed to happen.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" White asked.

"That…was one of the replica Poké Balls I just bought at the Official Pokémon Store," I explained gesturing at the aforementioned store.

"What? You just gave him a _replica_ Poké Ball?" Crys demanded.

"But it actually worked!" I paused. "I need to buy more!" I sprinted off towards the Pokémon Store.

* * *

><p>A little earlier<p>

Blue POV

Almost as soon as I had acquired the phone, I received a call from Yellow. "Blue! What do these instructions even mean?" After a few more minutes of slightly hysterical ranting on Yellow's part there was finally silence on the line.

"So Ruby and Sapphire have been arguing non-stop and it's really getting to you huh?" I asked.

"Y-yes," Yellow sobbed. "They _never _stop…"

"Don't worry Yellow, if you follow all the instructions I gave you, they'll be so awkward around each other that they won't even be able to talk to each other," I encouraged.

"…I thought you wanted them to be together, not awkward. Though silence sounds wonderful…" Her voice took an airy light tone filled with hope during her last sentence.

"It will start with silent awkwardness and end with amazing romance!" I stated and began dancing around excitedly. The others (sans Gold, don't know where he went) stared at me strangely. "What?"

"Who are you talking to?" White wondered.

"Yellow," I replied.

"…What? How did you get in contact with Yellow?" Crys asked.

"I gave her my phone number."

"You didn't have a _phone _until today."

"Weeeell, I had to do some…um, let's say _persuading, _but I got the phone number I wanted!"

Crys shook her head exasperatedly. "Whatever, let's just go," Crys said leading the group off towards Sandgem Town, the hometown of Professor Rowan and the place we had decided would be best to start our search.

I followed her, but there was something I felt like I was forgetting. Wait, Yellow… I hurriedly brought my phone back up to my ear. "You're not even there are you?" Yellow was saying.

"Of course I'm here!" I exclaimed. "But I have to go now. Good luck with the shipping!" Hahaha whoops. I knew I was forgetting something.

* * *

><p>Third Person POV<p>

Blue wasn't the only one forgetting something. Or rather, some_one. _They had left without Gold, who had finally arrived back at the square after stocking up on Poké Balls. "Guys?" he asked, looking around. He finally caught a glimpse of them leaving the city and ran after them, accidentally bumping into a girl on his way. "Sorry!" he shouted after her as he continued running.

The girl shrugged it off and was about to continue walking when a device attached to her belt started to make a beeping noise. She unclipped the rectangular device and flipped it open. It had a screen with a map of the immediate area and five flashing differently colored dots. The girl sighed, "I was almost there too…" For a brief moment she gazed in the direction she had previously been going longingly, then snapped her device shut and headed after the group of runaway mages.

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

Platina POV

I assumed that I was in Team Galactic's headquarters, but they had given me something to put me to sleep during the transport. Currently I was sitting in an extremely dark room tied to a chair. Other than being extremely boring it was also disgusting. Another unfortunate factor was that something seemed to be blocking my psychic powers. Meaning I couldn't contact Dia and Pearl. I sighed aloud, something I wouldn't usually do as it's unladylike, but considering the circumstances I thought it could be forgiven. What I was _not _expecting was someone else to be in the room with me.

"Is someone there?" a quivery female voice asked.

"I am not alone in this room?" I replied.

"OH MY GOSH! Finally I'm not alone anymore!" the girl exclaimed loudly. If my hands were free I would have covered my ears, however they were so I just cringed. "Sorry I'm just so excited! I've been all alone except for all those evil Galactic grunts. It's so great to finally have someone to talk to!"

"Yes…I guess your excitement is understandable."

"By the way, my name's Bianca."

I know Pearl and Dia had been trying to get me to trust commoners more, but I had no evidence that Bianca was truly a fellow captive.

"You may call me Lady," I conceded.

"Lady? That's an odd name," Bianca mused. I didn't inform her that it was not my true name. "It's really nice to meet you Lady!"

"You as well Bianca."

* * *

><p>Excerpt from <em>the MAGE Handbook<em>:

The Great Burning

During the first Mage War, every book that had anything, even if it was only an obscure reference, to do with history was destroyed. No one knows why since all the history is gone, the only reason modern people even know it happened is because of the remains of ancient libraries that have been found. Archeologists have endeavored to discover the history from before the Great Burning, but so far none have succeeded.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**The girl is an OC, she's going to be important for the story later. Sorry if having another OC bothers you, but she's kind of necessary…You'll see why in the next Sinnoh chapter. And the excerpt is what Yellow was talking about with Rayquaza last chapter. I should have put it there but I forgot…**

**Next up, probably Kanto. And maybe some more Emerald and Wally. **


	17. The Red Rescue Team

**Author note:**

**My story has reached 100 reviews! Woo! Thank you so much everyone!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: The Red Rescue Team<p>

Somewhere in Kanto

Green POV

"We're completely lost," I grumbled to Red. "I knew we should have bought a map."

"We are not lost!" Red objected.

"We have no idea where we are!"

"Yes we do, we're in Kanto somewhere." I groaned loudly. "C'mon Green," Red encouraged. "If we just keep going we'll get there eventually!"

Red's upbeat attitude was _really _annoying me.

"Get where?" I demanded.

"Here!" Red announced. As he declared this we walked out of the forest straight into the bustling main square of a small town. I glanced at the ornate Blastoise fountain and the colorful flowers surrounding it with a sense of familiarity. When my gaze landed on the main street I knew I had been here before.

"I recognize this town," I murmured.

"Really?" Red asked.

"Yeah." I walked towards the main street as if drawn by an outside force. Past the small café and souvenir shops straight to an patch of ground, completely empty except for the scorch marks which marred its surface.

"Whoa. What happened here?" Red wondered.

"I did. This is where my power unlocked," I answered absently, thinking back on that day. As I was standing reminiscing, a couple who seemed to be in their forties joined us in staring at the burned patch of the ground.

"We were here when this happened you know," the woman declared. Yes, actually I do know that.

"Yeah, we were here with our daughter," the man said sadly. I know that too… I know you're going to ask Red, but please…please don't for once.

"Who's your daughter?" Red asked oblivious to my mental pleading.

"Her name is Blue," the woman replied.

"Blue? We kno-" I cut my idiot of a friend off before he could do more damage.

"We know about Blue," I covered. "We're from Pallet and heard all about her kidnapping."

Red opened his mouth to say something else but I covered his mouth with my hand, cutting him off. The older couple seemed to focused on the ground to notice our odd behavior.

"Ah…yes it was quite a widespread news story after it happened. But we finally got to see our Blue again after all those years," the woman reminisced.

The woman's husband nodded and continued the story, "One day we finally found out where she was and went to meet her. That was the day she became a mage."

"Yes, the fountain we met at positively exploded with the amount of water coursing through it," the woman laughed. "We spent the time before she had to leave as a family. It was the best days of our lives."

"Yes it was," Blue's father agreed. The four of us stood silently, (though Red's silence wasn't of his own volition) thinking about Blue. "Ah but you two kids don't care about an old couples ramblings, thank you for listening," Blue's father said, breaking the silence.

Red finally removed my hand from his face and replied, "We were happy to listen. I thought your story was very touching. Green did too." I gave him a 'what-the?' look, but Red was either oblivious or just ignored me.

"Aw you're sweet," Blue's mother cooed. "But we'd best be off, we don't want to get home too late." Blue's parents waved goodbye and we waved (well Red waved and grabbed one of my arms forcing me to wave as well) back.

Once they were gone, Red turned back to me. "Why didn't we tell them that we know Blue?"

"Think Red," I enlightened. "We would have to tell them we're from MAGE, and we're obviously not supposed to be _here _if we're mages."

Red scratched the back of his head. "Oh… I guess that's a good point," he mused.

"Let's get out of here and head to Pallet Town," I ordered.

"You really think your grandfather knows how to find the council?"

"He'll at least know where to start."

* * *

><p>Somewhere in…Well Just Somewhere<p>

Wally POV

It was dark. Why? Because we were in a cave. Hiding. Hiding from what? Well…that _is_ the question.

"What was that?" Emerald screamed for the umpteenth time.

"I still don't know," I replied. The…thing screeched. A horrible, piecing sound that resounded through the cave very unsettlingly. Emerald and I had been walking down the path Emerald randomly picked when we were assaulted by, well, whatever it was. We never got a good look at the thing since we were too busy trying not to get mauled by its large claws as it flew overhead. Other than the claws, the only thing I was able to catch was a flash of grey skin. The only plan we could think of on the run was to hide in the first place we saw, which happened to be the cave we were in right now.

The _thing _was clawing at the front of the cave, but luckily it was too big to fit into the cave. Emerald and I had ducked around a bend just in case it had, you know, fire breath or something. So far, there hadn't been any blistering flames flying past my face, so I risked a closer look. I slowly poked my head around the bend. What I beheld was a large grey prehistoric-looking creature. After seeing that I had survived, Emerald poked his head around the corner for a look as well.

"An Aerodactyl!" he exclaimed shocked.

"A what?" I asked confused.

"Aerodactyl. Come on Wally! Haven't you memorized the Pokémon list?"

"Uh…no? So that…that's a Pokémon?"

"Yes!"

"But Pokémon aren't real."

"Apparently they are," Emerald retorted.

"Well, is there some Pokémon repellant or something that can help us out of this?"

"Well…in the games there's Repel, but it's not like I have any on me."

We both stood there then, just staring at the giant prehistoric beast completely out of ideas.

"Got any rocks?" Emerald asked. "We could throw them at it."

"No I don't and even if I did that's a _terrible _idea."

Emerald shrugged. "Well, that's all I had."

I sighed and shook my head exasperatedly. As we stood there, out of ideas, an ominous cracking sound filled the cave. Simultaneously, part of the cave entrance fell apart, widening the entrance.

"Uh-oh," Emerald said.

"Let's get out of here!" I yelled, dragging Emerald further into the cave. Once Emerald got over his shock, he stopped being dragged and quickly ran passed me. I had never been very good at sports, my childhood illness had seen to that. And even though I had been cured years ago, I still wasn't as physically fit as most people my age. Now I was really regretting it, because even though I was being chased by a seriously angry flying dinosaur, I just couldn't physically run any faster. My only saving grace was that there wasn't enough room for it to fly, and it travelled much more slowly on foot than it did in the air.

As I continued running through the cave after Emerald, I realized something. Something extremely obvious.

"Emerald!" I shouted. "You're a ground mage, just collapse the tunnel behind us!" I heard a startled, 'oh!' Then I saw Emerald stop, lift his hands up high then thrust them violently downwards. As his hands fell, the ceiling of the cave fell as well, trapping the creature behind us. The creature released another of its anguished cries followed by frantic scrabbling sounds on the newly fallen ground.

"That should hold," Emerald said uncertainly.

Unfortunately, bringing down the wall had blocked off any light from the cave entrance, so now we were in complete darkness.

"I really hope this place has a back entrance," I sighed.

"Yep," Emerald concurred. "There's too much mountain in the way for me to make us a way out."

So we walked, well stumbled really since we couldn't actually _see _anything, hoping desperately to find a way out, without becoming the dinner of a rabid Pokémon.

* * *

><p>Kanto<p>

Pewter City

Red POV

Shortly after our conversation with the old couple who seemed to be Blue's parents, Green insisted we leave as soon as possible, so we did. After walking a ways in silence (Green seemed to be less irritable if I didn't talk too much) we arrived at Pewter City. It was already late in the afternoon, so we made our way to the Pewter Inn.

The main inns had always reminded me of Pokémon Centers, they were round two-story buildings which, if the roofs were painted red, would be the splitting image of the video game Pokémon Center. It then occurred to me that maybe they actually _were _Pokémon Centers, at least originally. This thought made me so excited, that I didn't actually mind staying in such an uncomfortable place for once.

We entered and walked up to the counter where a woman was standing, but unfortunately her hair was brown, not pink as I had been hoping. "We'd like two rooms please," I requested. The woman nodded and turned around to gather the keys for them.

As we waited, my eyes drifted up to one of the multitudinous TV screens on the wall. On the screen a woman was speaking.

"Welcome to the Pewter City News Network. As I'm sure you're aware, the Charmander that caused a sensation in the town square last night is now being studied in the Pewter Museum. What originally appeared to be a prank by a bunch of teenagers or an experiment gone wrong now seems to be neither. You see, our city is not the only city to have been visited by a Pokémon. Other cities in Kanto; and the entire world have been visited by the formerly fictional creatures. So far it the cause of this phenomenon is unknown. When we hear more, you'll be the first to know. Now time for weather…"

I traded a look with Green.

"Excuse me!" the woman at the counter yelled, thrusting two sets of keys at me.

"Oops sorry!" I apologized sheepishly, wondering how long she had been waiting. The woman dropped the keys in my hand, and shooed us away impatiently. Green and I retreated from the annoyed woman and shuffled over towards a wall.

"Green, what about that –"

Green cut me off. "Let's talk in one of our rooms." I nodded in agreement and we headed up to the second floor where our rooms were located. The rooms were exactly the same in every inn in Kanto; tiny rooms with barely enough room for a bed. As it was, it was quite awkward for two guys to occupy the same room. We were both seated on the bed, leaning as far away from each other as possible.

"I thought the Pokémon were only in that temple at MAGE," I mused.

"I guess we were wrong," Green stated.

"Green, we have to save that Charmander," I stated, suddenly changing topics.

"What?"

"They're studying it!"

Green scoffed and rolled his eyes. I grasped his hands in mine and gazed directly into his eyes. "We have to save it Green," I persuaded earnestly.

"Fine!" Green yelled, looking disturbed. "Just let go of me!"

"Woo!" I exclaimed, releasing him. "Let's go Green!"

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

After the extremely awkward moment in the hotel room (made even more uncomfortable by Red's complete obliviousness to the utter awkwardness of it), we headed straight for the Pewter Museum. I know Red is obsessed with Pokémon and so, obviously wants to protect the Charmader from being studied. But I think his secret agenda (if someone like Red is actually capable of having one of those) was for me to capture the Charmander. Red kept talking about how much he wanted to have a Pokémon battle and if I caught a Pokémon, Red would finally have a battle partner.

We were soon standing outside of the museum (it really wasn't a very big city). "So should we just go in?" Red suggested.

"Do you really think they have it just sitting right in the middle of the museum on a pedestal?" I asked sarcastically.

* * *

><p>The Middle of the Museum<p>

"I guess they do," I said shocked, as I viewed the living Charmander sitting upon a pedestal as the main attraction in the museum.

Red looked thoughtful for a few moments, then hurled his last remaining Poké Ball over the fence that prevented the Charmander from escaping, however; Red's aim was slightly off and it bounced around the inside of the enclosure, getting stuck in the exhibit with the orange lizard. Then all the alarms activated.

"Nice job Red," I said sarcastically. We had come this far, so I figured I'd see it through. "Red, cut the power." Red nodded and started absorbing the power from the museum using his electricity magic. I ran towards the Charmander's enclosure and hopped over the fence. I snatched up the Poké Ball and gathered the Charmander into my arms. As I leapt back over the fence, Red finished draining the power, forcing all the lights in the museum to abruptly shut off.

"Green!" Red shouted. I ran towards his voice, bumping into him in my rush.

"Let's get out of here Red, before the guards get here!" We sprinted out of the museum, our path lit by the small flame on the Charmander's tail. Never stopping, we exited the museum and immediately headed out of town, towards the Viridian mall, where Viridian Forest used to be. When we were far enough from the city that we were confident the guards were no longer following us, we stopped.

"Char…" the Charmander puffed.

"What are _you _complaining about," I grumbled. "I carried you the whole way."

"Look you're friends already!" Red enthused. The Charmander and I glared at him. Red held his hands up in a submissive gesture. After the Charmander and I had stopped glowering at him, Red's hands went into his pockets. His face became confused and he pulled something out of his pocket. He held it up and said, "Oops, we forgot to return our keys!"

The Charmander and I sighed in unison.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I had some trouble writing this chapter, I keep getting distracted… Anyway hopefully it turned out all right. Next up is the Unova group! And a continuation of the Wally and Emerald saga.**


	18. Lyra's Lies

**Author Note:**

**Wally's an air mage. That comes up in this chapter, and I don't think I've mentioned it before.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: Lyra's Lies<p>

Unova

Striaton Town

Silver POV

This is _horrific. _I got stuck with the absolute _worst _two people I could have been grouped with. Lyra insists we stop in every single city to go shopping for souvenirs and Black is no better, though his shopping fetish is books rather than tacky memorabilia, but it's just as bad. Needless to say, I was sick of both of them.

The irritation was at the front of my mind since they were both shopping right now. I sighed angrily, leaning against one of the buildings as I watched people walk past, having literally nothing else to do. As I was considering ditching them to find the council by myself, a woman with ridiculously long black hair walked up to me.

"Hey there!" she greeted perkily. "You look bored and I need some help with something, you wanna help?"

I was about to say, 'no, of course not. Why would I want to help a random stranger who walks up to me on the street?' but then I realized helping her would probably be more interesting than people watching, so I replied, "…Fine."

"Great! I'm Fennel by the way."

I didn't bother to tell her my name.

"Come with me!" Fennel led me away from the building I was leaning on towards a modern-looking two-story house. She fumbled with her keys for a few seconds before finally got the door open. "Come right in," Fennel urged, gesturing for me to go inside. I complied.

"I need you to help me move these boxes," Fennel informed.

"You brought me here to do heavy lifting?" I asked incredulously.

"Well I can't do it myself. I'll pay you," Fennel said enticingly.

I was about to say no, but then remembered how I had lent Black most of my money so he would stop whining about not being able to afford enough books. Currently, I didn't have enough money to buy anything useful, so I reluctantly agreed. Fennel gestured at the hefty boxes I was to move, I sighed, rolled up my sleeves and began to work. Black will _not_ be getting his hands on the money I earn from this.

* * *

><p>Inside the Cave<p>

Emerald POV

"I need out of this cave!" I screamed into the darkness, my voice echoing through the chamber.

"Please don't yell so loudly…" Wally begged annoyance evident in his tone. "It's giving me a headache."

"Sorry," I apologized insincerely. We walked in silence for a few minutes and just as I was about to give up all hope, a light appeared on the horizon. "Yes!" I screamed, filled with pure joy.

Wally made some sort of strangled gasp which I assumed was him being so happy that he could no longer form words. We both began sprinting towards the light and soon arrived at the opening. It _was _a second exit from the cave, but unfortunately it was at the top of a rather large, sheer cliff.

"Why?" I demanded of the universe. "Why do we have such bad luck?"

"Emerald, I'm an air mage. We'll have no problem getting down," Wally said, staring at me oddly.

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "That's a good point…" So together we leapt through the opening and fell from the cliff with Wally channeling the air around us to slow our fall. Our descent was still quite quick, but it was nowhere near as fast as it would have been without Wally's help. We landed softly on the ground and I realized we were in the middle of a city.

"Huh, I wasn't expecting that," I remarked surprised.

"Where are we?" Wally wondered. We both looked around, but I didn't recognize anything. I assume Wally didn't either.

"I have no idea. Hey!" I called out to one of the people walking past. "What city is this?"

"Blackthorn City," the person replied. The person walked off before I could ask where Blackthorn City was_. _

"So… where is Blackthorn City?" I asked Wally, hoping he was better at geography than me.

Unfortunately, he just shrugged and replied, "No idea." So I performed my patent 'spin around and pick a random direction' move and we left the city, neither of us realizing we could have just bought a map at the store until we were already a few hours away from the city.

* * *

><p>Striaton City<p>

Lyra POV

As soon as we arrived in the city I headed straight into one of the touristy stores in the city as I had been doing every time we got to a new city. I felt guilty about lying to Silver and Black, but I wasn't ready to tell them about what I was really doing yet. Eventually I would have to, but I was going to put it off as long as possible.

Inside the store, I pulled out my concealing brown coat, flipped the hood up and then crept back outside. Quickly, I slipped through the crowd and entered the Striaton City inn. I made my way to the public computers every inn contained and quickly swiftly claimed one. I pulled up the internet and logged onto my e-mail account. There were still no new messages. Despondently, I logged back out and dropped my head into my hands.

I sat there for a while, the sounds of the room washing over me in waves. "More and more Pokémon are being seen every day." A voice on one of the TV's was saying. "Two were seen right near Striaton City just a few minutes ago." At that declaration I turned to the screen. In the bottom corner it had a logo labeled 'Poké Watch' and a boy with purple hair was speaking, standing in front of a map. I noted the nametag declared the boy to be Bugsy, as I studied the map.

A blinking red marker on the map indicated a clearing right outside of town. Since Black would be a lot longer in the bookstore anyway, I decided to check it out. I didn't have any Poké Balls, but I'm lovable, so I'm sure if I find a Pokémon it will follow me anyway!

I was soon at the location highlighted, but I didn't see any Pokémon. Figuring they must be hiding, I began to search through the bushes. As I searched, I was suddenly tackled from behind. The force of it knocked me over, but I managed to catch myself before I fell on my face. I whirled around to catch a glimpse of my attacker, and beheld a black creature with sharp silver claws. It was a Sneasel.

"Hello!" I greeted happily. I sat up and reached out a hand to pat it on the head, but quickly retracted it when the Sneasel sliced at me with its claws.

The Sneasel lunged at me, but before it could reach me a gush of water hit it in the face. A brave Marill was the source. It was standing next to me, glaring at the Sneasel. I was incredibly touched by the water Pokémon's defensive of me. The Sneasel shook off the water covering its fur and charged again, this time aiming for the Marill. I watched in horror as the Sneasel tackled the Marill, sending it flying and into a tree. The Marill landed with a pitiful squeak and it lay still.

Seeing the brave creature hurt because of me filled me with a white hot rage. My hands clenched into fists and began to glow. Power filled my hands and the glow intensified. Once the power had finished building, I charged at the Sneasel, punching it with my right fist. The blow sent the Sneasel flying across the clearing, just as the Marill had earlier. It struggled to get up for a few seconds, then gave up and remained motionless.

I hadn't utilized this power in a couple years and I certainly never told anyone I had it. The truth was, I was an extremely rare kind of light mage. No one knew about it though, I kept my secret buried. It was best that way.

That story I told Crystal all those weeks ago about how I became a mage…It was a lie. Some of it was true of course, Team Rocket _did_ play a part and my father _was _injured, but it didn't happen the way I told her it did.

It wasn't my father that was kidnapped by Team Rocket, it was me. They had grabbed me on my way home from school one day and started to bring me towards their base. We never actually got to the Team Rocket base though. The complete and utter terror I went through activated my powers and well, my memories are extremely hazy after that. All I know is that once I came to, I was in a locked room with a bunch of the mage police. They told me that I had beaten all the Rocket goons and that I had injured my father in the process. The guilt I felt was overwhelming.

When I got to MAGE, the first thing I did was to learn how to control my power. Light magic heals people by manipulating their cells to repair damage to their bodies. Most light mages can only manipulate other people, but in some rare cases, they are able to manipulate their own cells. They can improve themselves, make themselves stronger. I am one of these light mages. This should be a gift, but once the power activates it's almost impossible to control. I can keep my powers from surfacing most the time and I can control it in concentrated points, such as my hands. However, I still can't control full body changes, so I try to avoid using it at all.

"Hey Lyra!" Black greeted. I quickly shook my hands, dispersing the remaining energy lingering there.

"Hi Black!" I replied, feigning happiness.

"Is that a Sneasel?" Black asked staring at the unconscious Pokémon. His eyes shifted towards the Marill. "And a Marill?"

"Yep."

"What are you guys doing out here?" Silver demanded, joining us in the clearing.

"I was looking for Pokémon!" I exclaimed.

Black sheepishly scratched the back of his head and responded, "I was too."

Silver caught sight of the Sneasel and went to it, kneeling by its prone body. He lifted it into his arms and stood back up.

I started giggling which made Silver glared at me. "You look alike!" I laughed.

I noticed someone joining in my giggling, but it wasn't Black. It was the Marill, who had gotten back up at some point. The Marill grinned at me and nuzzed into my leg affectionately.

"You want to come with us?" I asked the Marill.

"Marill!" it exclaimed, bobbing its head up and down.

"I'm going to call you…Bubbles!"

"Bubbles?" Silver repeated aghast.

"Bubbles is a great name!" I defended.

"I agree with Silver on this one," Black noted. "Bubbles is a weird name."

"Let's just get out of here," Silver ordered before I could defend my choice of name. I noted as we left that Silver still hadn't put the Sneasel down. I guess Silver and I both have new Pokémon now, though I'm not looking forward to when that Sneasel wakes up.

* * *

><p>Third Person POV<p>

A man sat in a chair, various screens surrounding him. He scanned them with an impassive expression on his face, until something caught his eye. Something caught his eye and he pressed a few buttons, which made all the screens display the same image. It was a picture of a red-headed boy, leaning against a building with a decidedly bored expression on his face.

"I've finally found you," the man whispered. "My son…Silver, I've finally found you."

The man pressed a button and spoke into a small speaker on his desk, "I've found my son. We leave for Unova tonight."

* * *

><p>Nazo POV<p>

Once I had arrived at the Team Galactic headquarters, I was confined to a bland, undecorated room. There was, however, one concession. I had been given a television screen which displayed a live feed of the room my prisoner was trapped in. As there was nothing else to do I simply watched the screen as I waited for someone to tell me when we were going to do the power transfer.

A blue haired man entered my room and spoke to me, "It is such a pleasure to meet you in person. I am Cyrus."

"I'm, -" I was about to introduce myself, but he interrupted me.

"I know your name Nazo. In fact I know a lot about you."

"Why haven't we transferred the girl's powers yet?" I asked impatiently.

"We have to break her spirit for the transfer to be successful. Besides, she is extremely useful right now as bait."

"Bait?"

"She has friends, and all of them will be on their way here right now coming through the hole I made for them. Once they get here you can have your pick of their powers and I'll have more mages to make use of."

"Who is that other girl?" I demanded.

"Oh her? She's just a mage we found living outside of MAGE school. You don't need to worry about her." Without a single word of parting, Cyrus left, leaving me alone in the sterile room once again. I was stuck waiting again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I rewrote this chapter several times…I'm still not perfectly happy with it. But I think it turned out okay.**

**So Wally and Emerald are now in Johto. And we've gone through all the groups and we're back to Hoenn! (I have big plans for the next chapter)**


	19. Carnival Capers

**Author Note:**

**I've been having a bad week, so writing has been more difficult than usual. Hopefully this chapter is okay anyway. And a note, I never said before, but Sapphire _can _understand Pokémon due to her being a nature mage. So don't freak out when she understands one in this chapter. **

**I've recieved a few questions about Toro (Sapphire's familiar). I tried to write this in a few times, but it didn't really work. So I'm telling you here. Toro lived in a pot in Sapphire's room, and in the rush to leave, they forgot all about Toro and left her there. Toro will probably appear again at some point, but for now she's still at MAGE. **

* * *

><p><em>Previously:<em>

_Yellow, Sapphire and Ruby arrived in Rustboro City, where they met the leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua. Frightened by these encounters, they chose to leave the city continuing on their way to talk to Sapphire's father, none of them realizing that they were being followed._

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Carnival Capers<p>

Hoenn

En Route to Oldale Town

Yellow POV

Nothing worth noting happened to us in Petalburg Forest. We actually passed through the forest more quickly than I would have liked. I always felt more at home in the forest than anywhere else. But at least Petalburg City was much smaller than Rustboro City. The second we got to Petalburg City we went to the Petalburg Inn and I finally contacted Blue. She was less than helpful, but I was so happy to talk to someone other than Ruby and Sapphire that I didn't really mind.

The next morning we left Petalburg City, there being no reason to stay there any longer. According to Sapphire, the next town we would come to was called Oldale Town. Judging by the tiny dirt road, I surmised Oldale Town didn't get many visitors.

The three of us walked in silence, Ruby and Sapphire finally having decided to both remain silent as every word out of their mouths started an argument.

"LOOK!" Sapphire suddenly screamed. I panicked and reached for Kabuto's Poké Ball, preparing for battle. But when I looked towards what Sapphire was pointing at I dropped my hand. The thing Sapphire was pointing at wasn't an enemy; it was a huge carnival.

"A carnival?" Ruby asked, his voice irritated.

"I've never been to a carnival! Come on!" Sapphire began running full tilt towards the carnival, dragging Ruby along with her. I stared after them for a few seconds confused and then realized they left without me and hurried after them. Unfortunately, I followed after them too late and by the time I got into the carnival Ruby and Sapphire were already inside and hidden in the crowd.

I searched for awhile, but I soon realized I wasn't going to be able to find Ruby and Sapphire in the crowd like that. In light of this, I decided to just enjoy myself for a while. Maybe I'd find them while I walked around anyway. The carnival was extremely large, though I had never been to one before so I didn't know if it was a normal size for a carnival or not.

I walked around, playing games, eating cotton candy and otherwise enjoying myself. That is until someone grabbed my shoulder. I whirled around and saw a man dressed like that creepy man Maxie I had met in Rustboro City. He grinned evilly at me and commanded, "Come with me."

So I did what any sane person would do. I ran. I sprinted through the carnival, not caring that I was bumping into people in my haste. I was too afraid to look backwards, but I knew he was still there. So I just kept running.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

Sapphire was so excited to get to the carnival that we left Yellow behind. I tried to slow her down, but the barbarian was too fast. Once we were inside the carnival I finally managed to tell Sapphire we had ditched Yellow, but she insisted we find her later and enjoy the carnival now. We wandered around the carnival, Sapphire stopping to try every game while I took over one of the face painting stations.

After a while of this, we finally spotted a cotton candy station and we both bought some. We both finished and as I glanced at Sapphire I noticed that she had somehow gotten half of it stuck in her hair.

"How did that even happen?" I wondered gesturing at her hair. She just glared at me. Shaking my head disappointedly, I leaned forwards and began to pick the sticky mess out of her hair. Just as I finished, someone bumped into me from behind, knocking me into Sapphire. As I fell, our lips met.

We both jumped away from each other, staring at each other in shock. Then Sapphire turned and sprinted away from me crying, "I betrayed him!"

I dashed after her, but I quickly lost her in the crowd. Eventually I stopped, at a loss of what to do. And what did she mean, she betrayed him? Sapphire doesn't have a boyfriend. Does she?

"All alone," a voice taunted me from behind. I turned around to behold someone dressed similarly to Archie.

"Who are you?" I asked suspiciously.

"I am a member of the glorious Team Aqua!" the person declared.

"Good for you," I replied sarcastically. "But I already told Archie, I don't want to join you."

"Too bad you don't have a choice." The Team Aqua grunt lunged for me, but I sprung backwards simultaneously, avoiding his grasp. Knowing that if they were after me, they'd be after Sapphire and Yellow too, I frantically began searching for my friends.

* * *

><p>Sapphire POV<p>

I can't believe my first kiss was stolen by that sissy! It was supposed to be saved for my first love, the one who saved me all those years ago. I should have hated every second of it but I didn't. It should have been a revolting experience, but I-I _enjoyed _it. Why am I feeling this way? About _him? _

In my panic and guilt I didn't bother to watch where I was going, I just blundered blindly forth, pushing past people. Eventually, I found myself outside of the carnival, but I didn't stop then. I just continued running, only stopping when I tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. Completely drained, I just lay on the ground, too many thoughts going through my head for me to get back up.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

I hadn't managed to lose the Team Magma member yet, actually he seemed to be gaining on me. Realizing I wasn't going to be able to out run him, I began searching for a way out of the carnival. Once I was out of sight of the carnival goers, I could use my powers to fight off the man without being uncovered as a mage.

Eventually I found the edge of the festival. The carnival was surrounded by a fence, but I was so panicked at this point that I clambered right over without a single pause. Luckily for me it wasn't and electric fence or topped with barbed wire. I dashed away from the fair for a little while, then spun around once I figured I was out of visual range of the patrons. As I spun I grabbed Kabuto's Poké Ball in one hand and my special flute in the other.

I released Kabuto and brought the flute to my lips. I played a few urgent notes, sending out a distress call, then stowed my flute in my bag again. "Aqua Jet!" I commanded Kabuto.

The Team Magma grunt had stopped when I had and was now balancing flames in his hands. He must be a fire mage. Kabuto encased itself in water and flung itself at the grunt, putting out the man's flames upon impact. The man glared at me and swiftly threw a couple fireballs at me.

I paused. Seeing the flames hurtling towards me made me freeze and I couldn't remember any of the training Red had given me. Luckily before I was incinerated, a gush of water shot in front of me extinguishing the flames. I assumed it had come from Kabuto, but I realized Kabuto was in front of me and the water had come from behind. I stopped myself from turning to see my savior, knowing that turning my back on my enemy was a bad idea.

"Kabuto, Mud Shot!" I ordered before the grunt could attack me again and make me panic.

Kabuto flung mud at the grunt. The mud hit him in the face, temporarily blinding him. This was actually a bit unfortunate because it resulted in him hurling flames in random directions, not bothering to aim anymore. I commanded Kabuto to put the flames out, hoping to stop the man from setting all the grass on fire, but there were too many fireballs for Kabuto to handle them all alone. Fortunately, my savior from before joined Kabuto, helping to douse the fires. In doing so, it put itself in front of me and I finally got a look at it. I recognized the creature from Red's lessons, it was a Mudkip.

I quickly realized Kabuto and the Mudkip weren't making any progress, so I found a thick-looking stick on the ground and hit the grunt with it as hard as I could. Sadly this wasn't very hard, but I hit him in the face and he was already weakened from Kabuto's assault, so it was enough to knock him out.

The three of us stared at the unconscious man for a few seconds, catching our breath. As we stood there staring, ChuChu sprang into view announcing, _"I'm here to help!"_

"You're a bit late ChuChu," I told her.

"_Oh," _she replied disappointed.

"_Let's leave before he wakes up," _the Mudkip suggested. We all agreed and the four of us walked back towards the carnival. I assumed Ruby and Sapphire were still there and we needed to get together again.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

After running around the carnival for a while, I realized I was never going to find Yellow and Sapphire in here and avoid the Team Aqua grunt at the same time Luckily, the entrance was in sight so I was soon through the gates and back on the road. I was still being pursued, so I didn't bother to look where I was going. Once I lost the grunt I'd worry about where I was going. As I ran, something suddenly gripped my arm, yanking me off the path and behind a large tree. My immediate instinct was to break away from my captor, but then I caught sight of the grunt still running up the trail. I forced myself to be still until the grunt passed, then freed myself from the vice-like grip of the person who grabbed me. "Dad?" I exclaimed when the person came into my line of sight.

"Ruby," my father greeted.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded.

"I should be asking you that," he replied. "How did you leave MAGE?"

"It doesn't matter. How did you find me anyway?"

"I was in Rustboro city on business when I saw you."

"So you decided to stalk me."

"I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Look, my friends and I are trying to save our friend who was kidnapped," I finally explained. "I need to find Yellow and Sapphire now. We can talk about this later."

My dad reluctantly agreed and we walked back towards the carnival keeping our eyes open for my friends.

* * *

><p>Sapphire POV<p>

I was in an extremely uncomfortable position, face first on the grass somewhere off the beaten path. But I just couldn't get up the willpower to move. That is until I heard someone approaching. My body tensed, ready to get up and fight if I needed to.

"Poor little girl. Drowning in self pity," said a mocking voice from above me. Her words punctuated with a harsh, slightly maniacal laugh. I glanced at her, but made no other movement. She was wearing what seemed to be a uniform, though I wasn't sure what it was for. Really the giant 'G' plastered on it should have tipped me off though.

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

"My name is Mars," the woman replied. "How would you like to join us little girl? You could be so powerful."

"What're ya talking about?" I asked confused.

"Join Team Galactic," Mars said enticingly.

"Never!" I yelled at her, springing to my feet and adopting a battle stance.

"Fine then," Mars growled, blue sparks dancing across her fingertips. She flung the lightning at me, but I leapt out of the way. I began commanding the plants, ordering them to restrain Mars. The grass around me grew rapidly, twining around Mars's legs and forcing her to the ground. Before I could begin my beat down on her, a voice stopped me.

"Sapphire!" Yellow shouted. She ran up to me, followed by a Mudkip and Kabuto.

"Yellow?" I said surprised.

"I've been looking all over for you!"

"Sorry," I apologized. "I was just fighting –" I paused, because when I turned to gesture at Mars, she wasn't there anymore. "Where'd she go?"

"Where did who go?" Yellow wondered.

Before I could begin relating my encounter, Ruby showed up in the company of a scary looking man. I stared pointedly at Ruby's companion, still too rattled to look at Ruby himself.

"You both okay?" Ruby asked us.

"Fine," I replied, still avoiding his eyes.

Before Yellow could respond, the Mudkip with her suddenly jumped at Ruby, knocking him over. _"You're awesome!" _the Mudkip yelled, though Ruby of course didn't understand what it said.

"Why is this thing attacking me?" Ruby asked disturbed.

"I think it likes you," Yellow answered.

"I don't want such a…disgusting looking creature to like me!" Ruby yelled. The Mudkip looked heartbroken.

"Sorry," Ruby apologized to the Mudkip after seeing its expression. "You probably have some redeeming qualities."

"Ruby…Who is that?" Yellow asked gesturing towards the man with Ruby uneasily.

"Oh, this is my dad."

"Your dad?" I exclaimed. "What's he doing here?" Yellow seemed similarly confused.

Ruby's dad held up a hand, silencing Ruby as he explained, "I was in Rustboro City on business and saw Ruby. I wanted to know what he was doing out of MAGE."

"Why didn't you just ask him?" Yellow questioned.

"I had hoped now to talk to any of you. I work for the non-mage government, and now that I've made contact it's one of my duties to take you all back to school."

"What?" I exclaimed angrily. "You can't take us back! We have to talk to the Hoenn council!"

"Dad, please let us go," Ruby begged. "We have to do this."

Ruby's dad closed his eyes in thought for a few moments then uttered, "Fine. I'll let you go. But I'm travelling with you to Oldale Town. That's where I work anyway."

After this statement, Yellow suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! I forgot to mention, I was attacked by a member of Team Magma earlier."

"I was attacked by a member of Team Aqua," Ruby added.

"I met some weird girl named Mars," I informed.

"Mars?" Yellow repeated.

"She wanted me to join Team Galactic."

"We should get out of here before they find us again," Yellow suggested nervously.

This was met with agreement all around, and so the three of us, plus Ruby's dad, returned to the path and continued on down the road. I was determined to keep up a normal façade, but underneath I was still just as confused and conflicted as I had been the moment Ruby's lips had touched mine.


	20. Paths Diverge

**Author Note:**

**Sorry this update took a while. I bought Final Fantasy XIII-2 and I can't stop playing it. I got stuck and finally forced myself to write this.**

* * *

><p><em>Previously on MAGE:<em>

_Dia caught a Munchlax, White tried to learn how Pokémon battles work and Blue stole a cell phone. As they left Hearthome City Gold bumped into a girl who began to follow the group. _

* * *

><p>Chapter 18: Paths Diverge<p>

Sinnoh

Crys POV

"Come _on_ Crys," Gold whined from behind me. Just like he had been for the past _hour. _"I said I was sorry."

"Please stop," White begged. "She's not talking to you and you're just making it worse."

White was right of course. I _wasn't _speaking with Gold, and there was one very simple reason. What, according to Dia and Pearl, should have been a one, or two if we walked slowly, day journey was already well into the fifth day. And it was all Gold's fault.

As soon as we left Hearthome City he became convinced we were being followed. None of us saw anyone following us, but Gold kept badgering us until the rest of us finally just did what he wanted so he'd stop complaining. We were onto day five of our 'short detour.'

"Argh!" Pearl suddenly shouted to the heavens. "Where are we?"

"We'll get to Sandgem Town eventually," Dia said cheerfully.

"I hate to be take sides, but I agree with Pearl. I am _sick _of these stupid mountains!" White said, her voice growing in volume until she was shouting

I turned around to look at her. "Are you okay White?" I asked concerned. She had stopped walking and was on her knees, her head in her hands.

"I think the mountains have driven her insane," Blue theorized.

"We're almost out," Dia soothed. "See?" He pointed and I could just make out a few buildings through the trees.

"So we just have to get down this mountain and we'll finally be there?" White clarified her voice full of hope.

"Yep!"

"YES!" White screamed in pure happiness. "I never want to see another mountain again!" As she said this she got up and began sprinting towards the town.

* * *

><p>As Dia promised, we were soon in Sandgem Town. We debated going straight to the inn, but we had wasted so much time going through the mountains we decided to look for Professor Rowan first.<p>

After we wandered around the town for a few minutes, Dia pointed out a building and said, "That must be Professor Rowan's lab." The building he was indicating was the largest building in town and appeared to be the only building in the town even remotely big enough to house a lab, so I agreed with his theory.

"Let's check it out," I suggested. We walked over to the building and the doors automatically opened as we approached them. I figured this was an invitation to enter, so I went ahead and entered, the others following me in.

An old man seated at a desk turned as we entered. "Hello kids, what can I do for you?" he asked. I had no idea how he knew we wanted something, or why he would help us if he knew. But what do I know? Maybe helping kids who randomly walk into his lab is his thing.

"We need to find the Sinnoh council," Pearl announced without preamble.

"The Sinnoh council? I'm sorry but I don't know where it is located. I would be happy to help you find someone who doesknow though."

"That would be great," I said thankfully.

"Do you know where the Team Galactic headquarters is?" White asked suddenly.

"I heard Team Galactic had been destroyed," Professor Rowan replied.

"We have reason to believe they haven't," I replied.

"Well either way I don't know where their base is." There was a collective sigh at this statement.

"Hopefully the council will know more," I suggested hopefully. "You said you could help us find someone who knows where it is?"

Professor Rowan nodded and was about to respond when the doors swished open again. "Found you," stated a female voice in a bored tone. I turned to see the newcomer. The girl stood with her arms crossed across her chest and a serious expression on her face. She had long black hair and was wearing some sort of uniform, but it wasn't one I recognized.

"Who are you?" I asked confused. Her eyes flicked to me as I spoke and I got the strangest feeling that she could see straight through me.

"My name is Midelle," she replied. Her voice was quiet, but still easily audible. "I work for the mage council and it is my job to take you to MAGE."

"NO!" White wailed. "We can't go back to MAGE yet! We haven't found Platina."

"Who?"

"Midelle I'm Professor Rowan and I am also employed by the council," Rowan said, diverting Midelle's attention from White to him. "You can leave the mages with me, so please be on your way."

Her expression became slightly irritated but she nodded and began to leave, however before she made it through the doors she turned back around and asked a question. "Who is Platina?"

There was silence for a while, her eyes scanning all of us slowly, then finally landed on me. "Platina's our friend who was kidnapped," White explained.

Pearl suddenly asked her, "You work for the council, so you must know where they're located right?"

"By that logic Professor Rowan would know too," I pointed out.

"I don't know. If they told all the people they employ where they were they'd never be able to keep the location a secret," Midelle replied, confirming my argument.

"They send out orders by e-mail," Professor Rowan informed.

"Actually I get mine by text message."

"You do? I have a cell phone, why don't they send mine by text?" he looked at his phone sadly and I gave it a cursory glance, noticing that it was in fact a cordless phone – not a cell phone. I decided not to tell him because I didn't want to insult him, but Gold had no such inhibitions.

"That's not a cell phone," he told the professor.

"It's not?"

"There's one good thing about that phone," Blue mused.

"It doesn't have a cord?" Gold suggested.

"…Fine, there're two good things about that phone," Blue corrected.

"What's the other one?" White asked.

"It's thief proof. Even if that was the only thing in here, I still wouldn't take it."

"Teach me to be cool!" Professor Rowan suddenly begged, getting down on his knees in front of Blue.

Blue grinned her signature grin – the one which promises misfortune to others around her – and replied, "Sure Professor. I'll teach you to be cool."

Gold looked terribly insulted by this and murmured to himself, "I'm _way _cooler than Blue. Why did he pick her?"

"We don't have time to teach old guys how to be cool!" Pearl yelled. "We have to find Team Galactic and save Platina!"

"Team Galactic?" Midelle asked suddenly. I hadn't even noticed she was still here. "Your friend was taken…by Team Galactic?"

"Yeah, do you know something?" White hoped.

"But I thought Team Galactic had been destroyed," Professor Rowan mused.

"The council originally thought that they _were _destroyed. However it seems they only destroyed one outpost. The main body of their organization is still around," Midelle corrected.

"What!" Professor Rowan gasped.

"I'm sure you'll be fine professor," I soothed.

"I can't believe they didn't tell me! I'm important!"

"Coolness lesson number one!" Blue shouted over the professor's complaints. He quieted instantly and stared at her. "Act like you don't care about things that bother you"

Professor Rowan nodded seriously and arranged his features into an uncaring expression.

"There have been rumors going around that Team Galactic and Team Plasma have teamed up," Midelle said, continuing her explanation from before Professor Rowan's outburst.

"Team Plasma?" Pearl asked, paling slightly.

"You know them?" I asked confused. Sure, I'd heard of them, most had but the way Pearl said their name sounded more personal than just watching a news story about them.

"I...yeah. I know about them. They're an extremist group. They kept raving about how Pokémon would come to the world."

"We were at one of their rallies," Dia informed.

"Why were you at one of their rallies?" I wondered.

"Not on purpose," Pearl replied. "They randomly come into different towns and give their speeches. We just happened to be in Jubilife City the day they gave a speech there."

"That's the day we became mages," Dia mused.

"Wait," I said struggling to process this new information. "You were at the Torching of Jubilife?"

"What's that?" Gold asked.

"You don't know _any _history, do you?" I accused. "The torching of Jubilife happened just last year; it was all over the news. Team Plasma went there to give a speech, and when the people didn't accept their message they started burning the buildings down."

"We were at Eusine's show when Team Plasma's leader, Ghetsis, usurped the stage," Pearl told us.

"Eusine the stand-up comedian?" Gold clarified, perking up suddenly. "I've always wanted to go to one of his shows!"

"It was a really great show!" Dia gushed.

"Yeah until Ghetsis got mad at us and burned the theater down," Pearl added. "The audience started throwing things at him after hearing his 'message,'" Pearl put air quotes around the last word.

"The fire wasn't because of the audience," Midelle commented from her place in front of the door. "According to the council report Ghetsis had the whole thing planned out to show how serious he was."

"Yes I heard that as well!" Professor Rowan interrupted, desperate not to be left out. "There were multiple fires all started at the same instant, exactly at three o'clock. It was most definitely planned from the start!"

Pearl shook his head as if ridding himself of unwelcome thoughts and exclaimed, "Enough about the past! We need to find Platina."

"Your friend…She was taken by Team Galactic?" Midelle verified. "I should report this." She grabbed her cell phone from her pocket and began to type out a message.

"Her name is Platina Berlitz," I informed.

"Berlitz? You mean Platinum Berlitz? She used to work for me! She's such an intelligent girl," Professor Rowan babbled.

"You knew Platina?" Dia gaped.

"She was my assistant," Professor Rowan replied. "Actually her father is the person I want to bring you to."

We began telling Professor Rowan what happened to Platina as Midelle tapped away at the keys on her phone, presumably writing a report to the council.

Once we had told our story, Midelle said, "I think I can find your friend."

"Really?" White gasped.

"How?" I asked suspiciously.

"The person who kidnapped her was my brother Nazo," she replied absently, still fiddling with her phone.

"How could you possibly know that?" I accused. "We didn't even describe him!"

She opened her mouth to respond, but Professor Rowan preempted her. "Mind reader!" he blurted.

Midelle gave him an odd look, but she replied, "Yep."

"You've been reading our _minds?" _I demanded while Gold simultaneously said, "Cool! Poker would be so much easier with that ability!"

Reminding myself to punish Gold later for his gambling ways, I let it slide for the moment.

"Yes, yes. There are different types of psychic mages you know," Professor Rowan explained. "Each psychic mage specializes in one of the three types, though each one has limited abilities in each one. The three types are defensive, mind reader and seer. Mind readers can – "

"Coolness lesson number two!" Blue interrupted. "No one wants lessons when they're not in school." She paused for a second, then revised her lesson, "Actually no one wants lessons period. Unless that person is Black or Crystal." This shut Professor Rowan up and he sat back down onto his office chair looking chastised.

"Don't freak out too much," Midelle said. "I don't read your mind all the time, only when there's something I need to know. Or want to know."

"Isn't mind reading painful?" Professor Rowan asked. "I've never actually met a mind reader before."

"That's not surprising. We make up the smallest percentage of psychic mages. And…I don't know if I would describe it as painful. More…overwhelming. The human brain is only meant to handle one set of thoughts so having more than one is…intensely uncomfortable."

"We really should get going now," Pearl pointed out.

"Going where?" I asked.

"With Midelle obviously," White replied. "She can find Platina!"

"But –" I didn't finish my sentence, the end of which would be 'she could be lying,' as she was standing right there.

"She thinks I might be lying," Midelle finished for me. Stupid mind reader. She smirked at me.

"Why don't we just split up then?" Blue suggested.

"That's – actually that's a good idea." I replied.

"Don't sound so surprised," Blue said sounding insulted.

"I'm going with Midelle," Pearl informed.

"Me too!" Dia said.

"Alright, I guess that leaves Gold, Blue and I with Professor Rowan," I declared.

We all agreed and said our goodbyes. Dia, White and Pearl began to leave when Blue and Professor Rowan both shouted, "Wait!"

Blue dashed over to White, shoved a piece of paper into her hands then returned to her earlier position. "My phone number," she explained when White sent her a questioning look.

Professor Rowan had been shuffling through his desk drawers during this and pulled out some red devices. He hurried around giving one to each of us.

"What are these?" I asked inspecting it.

"It's a Pokédex," Professor Rowan replied. "Professor Oak invented it to catalog all the Pokémon species. They automatically send data back to the lab, so I'm giving them to as many people as possible.

"Thank you!" White thanked politely. The four left and it wasn't until I had watched them leave town that I realized I had just made a horrible mistake. Gold and I were alone with _Blue. _

* * *

><p>Blue's POV<p>

This is _perfect. _It was difficult to get Gold and Crys together with the other three around all the time, but now it's just me and them. Mwah hah hah! Judging by the looks the other three are giving me I just laughed out loud instead of mentally again. Why do I keep doing that? Oh well, I'll just grin to assuage their suspicions. Gold grinned back and Professor Rowan smiled at me a bit uncertainly. Crystal however, just looked even more suspicious. Oh well. It doesn't matter how hard she resists, my matchmaking schemes _always _work. Always.

* * *

><p>Team Galactic Headquarters<p>

3rd person

"Are we the only ones?" asked a man, his face concealed behind a black mask. The mask was full of elegant details, the most disturbing of which was a Joker-like grin.

"Yes," replied Cyrus, who was standing in front of a circular table. The masked man and two others were also at the table, though they were all seated, which gave Cyrus a sense of superiority. "Teams Rocket, Aqua and Magma have refused to join the coalition."

"Well that hardly matters," commented a green-haired elder man. The boy next to him, who appeared to be his son, nodded in agreement. "Teams Aqua and Magma are too busy fighting each other to cause trouble for us," he continued.

"Yes, and I have a plan to deal with Team Rocket," Cyrus announced. "The head of that organization, Giovanni, is on a search for his son. My spies have located him. We can bring him here and use him to force Giovanni to play along."

The masked man laughed evilly and praised, "That is an excellent plan! But I want to be the one to capture Silver. I still haven't gotten revenge for his escape all those years ago."

"You can plan the kidnapping," Cyrus conceded. "But it is best if you don't leave the base. That goes for you as well," he said gesturing at the green haired males. "We don't want anyone to get wind of our plan."

"Agreed," said the older green-haired man. "How is our plan progressing?"

"I've collected two types of mage and the others should be getting here soon."

"And the non-mage?"

"I have one and he has no idea what's coming," Cyrus replied with an evil laugh. "Soon my comrades, we will be the strongest mages the world has ever seen!" The room was filled with the maniacal chortles of the four men.


	21. Poke Balls and Fireballs

**Author Note:**

**I'm really really sorry about how long this took! I had midterms and all these essays to write… Again, I'm really sorry. **

* * *

><p>Chapter 19: Poké Balls and Fireballs<p>

Nuvema Town

Silver POV

We had arrived in Nuvema town and subsequently stayed for far longer than I would have liked. Lyra went straight to her usual souvenir run and Black scuttled off to the library. That guy must have had a book radar the way he found libraries so quickly.

Left with nothing else to do (_again_) I walked around the town, absently peering into store windows. One of the stores actually caught my eye, with a brightly colored sign declaring that the store had "Real Working Actual Poké Balls" in stock. Though the sign seemed…sketchy at best, I decided it was worth a look. Walking around with an unconscious Sneasel in my arms was getting tiresome.

The store was…seedy. It had black walls and music that seemed to come straight from a horror movie blasting from the speakers. I glanced towards the front counter and my eyes were assaulted with the view of a woman who seemed to think white face paint and large black rings around her eyes was a good fashion decision. Luckily, I had seen far worse things in my times with Blue, so I wasn't as horrified as a normal person would be. A quick scan of the store was all I needed to find the Poké Balls (after all, with everything in the store colored black the bright white and red of the devices was practically a beacon).

I walked over to the box, picked up one of the Poké Balls and opened it. The Sneasel was immediately sucked into it and the ball closed again, emitting a small ping signifying that the Pokémon had been successfully captured.

"Hey!" the girl screamed. "What are you doing?"

I shoved some more Poké Balls into my bag and sprinted out the door, knocking over one of the shelves on my way out to delay her. Once out the door I bumped into Lyra who was walking to our set meeting spot and grabbed her arm, dragging her along with me.

"Where are we going?" Lyra wondered. She glanced backwards then continued, "And why is that goth girl chasing you?"

"Don't question it," I commanded, quickening my pace. "And take this." I took a Poké Ball out of my bag and gave it to her.

"Oh, thanks!" Lyra took the ball and used it on the Marill that was sitting happily in her arms. She managed to catch the Marill (I refused to call it Bubbles) while being dragged along with me without stumbling.

"Hey Black!" Lyra shouted waving at the boy whose face was shoved in a book (as usual). At her exclamation he looked up and fell into step with us.

"Why is there a goth girl chasing you?" Black asked us.

"She's not chasing _us,_" Lyra clarified. "She's chasing Silver."

Black glanced backwards and commented, "She looks _really _mad."

Irritated by their commentary, I dragged them out of town, not bothering to follow the path. Really I should have paid attention to where I was going. I really really should have.

* * *

><p>Somewhere outside of Nuvema Town<p>

I dragged Lyra and Black through the area for quite a while until I had calmed down, but by then I had gotten us helplessly lost.

"Um…where are we?" Lyra asked.

I shrugged without pausing. Black however, pulled a book out of his bag (which by now must have been getting pretty heavy considering the amount of books he had been buying) and began studying it. A quick glance informed me that it was a book of maps. We continued on in silence, the only sound the pages of Black's book being flipped. I was actually impressed at his ability to read and walk, until he fell face first into the mud. We stopped so that he could pick himself up, and then it happened.

The first indication I had that something was wrong was Lyra's startled shriek. I jerked at the sudden noise and searched for what had caused Lyra's sound. All I managed to see was a shadowy figure in a mask before my attention was drawn to the large fireball hurtling towards me. It took me a split second to react to the fireball, but it was a split second too long.

I knew I wasn't going to get out of the way in time. My eyes closed in anticipation of the blast, but I was hit by something unexpected. Instead of searing heat blasting into me, I was hit by something heavy, but considerably less fiery.

Confused, I opened my eyes and almost wished I hadn't. Lyra was what had run into me. A detached part of my mind realized she must have jumped in front of me. Her overalls were charred and her head must have hit a rock judging by the blood dripping on the ground.

"SILVER!" Black yelled, shaking me. His shaking brought me out of my stupor and I realized he had actually been calling me for quite a while. When I finally glanced up at him, he said, "Silver, we have to get her to a hospital."

I nodded and stood, holding Lyra in my arms. Before we left I searched for the man one last time, but he was already gone.

I started walking then paused abruptly. "Do we even know where we're going?" I asked.

"I found our location in the map," Black replied gesturing at his mud covered map. "Follow me!"

* * *

><p>Nuvema Hospital<p>

Time seemed to pass slower in the hospital, each second dragging out to an excruciating length. I sat on one of the chairs staring at the door to the patient rooms, willing the doctor to come back and tell us she was okay.

"She'll be okay," Black said to me.

"She has to be," I replied.

We waited for what seemed like hours, but I don't know how long it actually was. All I could think of was how it was all my fault. In the time we had waiting for the doctor to return, I had realized that the man must have been one of the Masked Man's group. No one else wore masks that brightly colored. The man was after me, not Lyra. Lyra had nothing to do with this other than that she knew me.

The doors swung open revealing a man in a white coat interrupting my guilt ridden thoughts. I was on my feet and walking towards him before I had made a conscious decision to. Black quickly copied me. "How is she?" I demanded.

"She'll be okay," the doctor replied. "The worst injury she had was the blow she took to her head. I wouldn't have even believed she'd been hit by a fireball if I hadn't seen her clothes. It's almost as if she was shielded by something."

"Can we see her?" Black asked hopefully.

The doctor nodded and led us through the door. We walked down the hallway and stopped in front of one of the rooms. He opened the door and gestured us inside. I complied quickly and rushed over to Lyra's bedside. She was lying on a bed, her body covered by a sheet. Her head had a large bandage wrapped around it and her skin was dangerously pale. Seeing her like this sent a rush of concern flooding through me. This disturbed me slightly, as the only person I had ever felt this much concerned for before was Blue, but I dismissed the uncertainty judging it unimportant.

"She's so pale," Black murmured concerned.

"She just needs some rest and she'll be fine," the doctor said reassuringly. A beep sounded from a device on his belt prompting him to look at it. "I'm needed by my other patients, but you can stay until waiting hours are over." With this last statement the doctor closed the door behind him and left us in the room with Lyra.

"If she wasn't hurt that badly why does she look so pale?" Black wondered.

"Because I'm a vampire…" Lyra said quietly.

"Ack!" Black shrieked, jumping in surprise.

I spared him a glare then turned back to Lyra. "You're an idiot," I stated.

"Don't you mean 'thank you?'" Lyra countered. "I saved your life."

"But you weren't even hurt that badly," Black pointed out. "So if Silver was hit he should have been fine, right?"

"Ha!" Lyra exclaimed, her previously weak voice suddenly exuding energy. "You two aren't giving me enough credit. Even _I'm _not stupid enough to jump in front of a fireball without a plan!" (I learned much later that this is exactly what she did) "My powers can create shields, so I shielded myself and blocked the fireball. Easy!"

"But you still got hurt. Shouldn't a shield have completely protected you?" Black wondered, back in his analytical state.

"Well…It didn't block the concussive force, so I was knocked backwards. Which would have been fine if I hadn't hit a rock with my head."

Black nodded agreeably, but I was still stuck on her explanation. When did Lyra learn words like 'concussive force?'

The three of us talked for a while. I told them that the attacker was one of the Masked Man's agents and we debated how they had managed to find me, but we weren't able to figure out how he found me. Black did have a few ideas, but I wasn't sold on any of them, spy trackers hidden in our food seemed a bit farfetched. After we had exhausted all our theories, Black said he wanted to get some coffee and left the room.

After the door closed behind him, I mumbled "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it!" Lyra said.

"No really," I insisted. "You got hurt because of me. And I'm sorry. So thank you."

"Just consider it thanks for helping me with the robots back at MAGE," Lyra replied.

I didn't _help _her fight the robots, I fought the robots and she stood there, but I let it go since I was feeling guilty.

* * *

><p>Black POV<p>

Hospitals all have coffee right? I mean they always have coffee machines in the movies! But despite how long I searched, I just couldn't find any coffee. Just as I was about to give up and return empty handed, I spotted something pink out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look, but it was already gone. Curious, I followed it. After trailing the pink blob for a while, I finally got it cornered.

"A Munna!" I said excitedly. Staring at the creature I felt my head filling with my dreams. If I could catch this Pokémon I could become a Pokémon master! As these thoughts filled my head, I felt something attach to my head. "Huh?" I asked stupidly.

Someone in the room began laughing and explained, "It seems that Munna is eating your dreams. I think it likes you. Here," I held out my hand automatically and took the proffered object. It was a Poké Ball.

"Thanks," I replied, surprised at her generosity. The Munna finally released my head and grinned happily at me. I held up the hand holding the Poké Ball and said, "You want to come with me?" The Munna nodded excitedly and pushed the button on the small ball with one of its tiny pink appendages.

I grinned at the helpful woman and said, "Thanks again."

The woman smiled and replied, "No problem. My name's Professor Juniper."

"I'm Black."

We talked for a while after that and eventually we got onto the topic of her employment. To my surprise, she was employed by the mage council.

"You work for the mage council?" I asked.

"Yep. I'm not one of their agents or anything, I just help them with special projects. All of the professors like me are involved in both the mage and non-mage councils."

"Do you know where the mage council is?"

"No. Wait. Actually, I do." She clicked a few buttons on her phone and then showed me the screen. "It seems a little odd. They were always so secretive about the location then they just send this e-mail through to everyone."

I quickly read the e-mail and found I agreed with Professor Juniper. It _was _an odd message. It read: _Due to changes in our policies we are telling all our associates the location of the mage council. _

"The council?" I wondered. "Aren't there four?"

"Yes," Professor Juniper replied. "I assume they just sent everyone the location for their council, they weren't very clear though." She took her phone, pressed another button on her phone and handed it back to me. There was now a map on the screen with a flashing red dot that I assume marked the council.

I quickly copied the location down in my map book. "Thanks for showing me this," I said sincerely.

"No problem," Professor Juniper replied. "I figure with these e-mails from Lance flying everywhere the location won't be a secret for long anyway. And here," She handed me a rectangular, red device. "This is a Pokédex. My colleague Professor Oak invented it for documenting the Pokémon species. We're giving them to as many people as possible so we can document the Pokémon as quickly as we can. They automatically send data to our joint Pokémon data system." I desperately wanted to ask if I could take a look at the data system, but I had to tell Silver and Lyra the news right away.

Before I left I asked, "Well in that case can I have two more? Two of my friends are here too."

"Sure!" Professor Juniper handed two more Pokédex to me.

"I should go tell my friends the news," I said. "Thanks again for everything." I hurried away back to Lyra's room, forgetting that I still hadn't found any coffee.

* * *

><p>Silver POV<p>

Black barged back in about a half an hour after he left looking extremely excited. "Guys! Look what I have!" He thrust two red rectangular objects at us.

"Pokédex!" Lyra exclaimed. She snatched one from Black's hands and began pressing buttons. "Does it work just like in the TV show?"

I took one from Black as well then asked, "What TV show?"

"They're just like from the Pokémon anime!"

"…We have devices…based off of an _anime._"

"Yes!" Lyra and Black declared in unison. "Isn't it great?"

"No."

"Killjoy," Lyra muttered. I glared in response.

"And that isn't even the best news!" Black exclaimed. He flipped his map book open and turned it towards us. It was a map of the Unova region with a large red dot indicating a point in the far north. "This," he gestured to the dot. "Is where the Unova council is."

"Really? Well what are we waiting for, let's go!" Lyra made a move as if to get up, but I pushed her back down.

"As much as I want to go now, you're still hurt so we should wait for at least a day," I said.

"Silver's right," Black agreed over Lyra's protests. "Let's go in a few days."

"…Fine," Lyra muttered unhappily. Her quick agreement only served as more proof that she needed rest.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**Again, I'm sorry how long this took. I'll really try to get the next one up sooner. Big picture though, I think there about eight chapters left for this story. **

**I hope you liked this chapter. Next chapter will be Red and Green. **


	22. Valentine's Day Special: Moments

**So this is my Valentine's Day special. Sorry, but no one gets turned into Pokémon in this one. Anyway these are just moments (hence the title).**

_Italics _= thoughts

* * *

><p>Valentine's Day Special<p>

Moments

* * *

><p><strong>An Oldrival Moment<strong>

Ring. _Uh. What is that? _Ring. _Why won't it stop? _A hand flails, knocking the phone onto the floor with a clatter. Ring. The boy rolls to get away from the sound, but ends up on the floor, the phone next to his face. Ring. Grudgingly, he finally flicks the phone open. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Hiya Green! Blue here!" a cheery voice announces over the phone.

"What do you _want _Blue? What could be so important that you call me at one in the morning?"

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

Snap. Green slammed his phone closed. A second later, it began to ring again. He let it ring twice before he finally answered it again. "What!"

"Come on Greenie! We haven't talked in way too long!"

"…How did you get my phone number anyway?"

A maniacal laugh was the only answer he received. His eyes traveled around the small hotel room and landed on the Squirtle figurine that was sticking out of his bag. "You bugged the Squirtle figurine," he accused.

"How else was I supposed to know what you were doing?" she asked.

"You weren't."

"You're no fun."

"Ugh, just call me later!" With that Green hung up again and buried his phone at the bottom of his bag where the ringing wouldn't be loud enough to wake him.

* * *

><p><strong>An Agency Moment<strong>

Black sat in front of a computer in the local inn, carefully adjusting the webcam and microphone to suit him. Once he had finished this, he sat and waited, a messenger program open on the screen in front of him. After waiting for what seemed like a very long time to him, but was in actuality only about a minute, a small box appeared with a small pinging sound declaring that é had just signed on.

Black moved his cursor to the name and clicked on it, selecting video chat on the drop down list. The screen quickly filled with an image of White seated in a similar place, grinning at the camera, and through it, Black. Black found himself grinning back without actually making a conscious decision to do so.

"How've ya been boss?" Black greeted.

"Good! We've finally got a real lead onto Platina's location. Hopefully we'll find her soon."

"We met Professor Juniper," Black informed. "She's offered to help us."

"That's great news!" White replied excitedly. "Hopefully this will all be over soon. Then we can see each other again for real."

"That would be nice," Black said wistfully.

After this the two talked of other things, trying to forget, if only for a moment, the dangers they were facing.

* * *

><p><strong>A Mangaquest Moment<strong>

"Okay. Coolness lesson number 3," Blue began, talking to Professor Rowan who was listening to her every word with rapt attention. "Matchmaking makes you awesome. See those two?" Blue pointed at Gold and Crys who were sitting at the table in the lab. At Rowan's nod, Blue continued, "They belong together. It doesn't matter how hard they fight it. They _will _be together." Rowan looked a bit less sure about this last comment, but at a sharp look from Blue he began nodding vigorously.

Blue grinned conspiratorially at him then wandered over to where Gold and Crys were seated. "Hey there. The prof and I were going to get dinner at that fancy restaurant over there." She gestured to the nicest (and quite possibly _only) _restaurant in the town. "Do you want to come?"

Crys glanced at the restaurant, which was called The Flaming Charizard, realized she actually was quite hungry and nodded. After all, what could Blue possibly do in the presence of the Professor?

She soon regretted this thought, because as soon as Gold and Crys had ordered, Blue made up some ridiculous story about why she had to go and dragged Professor Rowan away with her. Which, of course, left Crys alone with Gold. At a fancy restaurant. On Valentine's Day.

Gold realized this as well and grinned, a bit predatorily, at Crys. "Since this is our first date it's on me," Gold announced.

"I'll pay for myself," Crys rejected.

"No, I'm paying," Gold insisted. "Besides, Blue stole your wallet so you don't have a choice."

"What?" Crys immediately reached for her wallet and, to her horror, found that it _was _missing. If she hadn't ordered yet she would have left, but unfortunately, she had. She sat rigidly, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the situation.

The waitress arrived with their orders and smiled _way _too enthusiastically at them. She set the steaming dishes down at their table and produced a red candle and lighter from behind her back. She placed the candle in the center of the table and brought the flickering flame next to the candle, lighting the wick. "It's so much more romantic this way right?" the waitress gushed.

Crys sighed as the waitress left, noticing against her will that the candle changed the atmosphere entirely. The dim, wavering flame created an air of intimacy that hadn't been there before. She was unable to stop herself from noticing how the golden light illuminating Gold's face in a very flattering manner. Mentally, she slapped herself and stared pointedly at her food, pretending as hard as possible that Gold wasn't sitting right in front of her.

Gold on the other hand, gazed at her unabashedly. After all, he had actually helped Blue plan most of this, though Crys was never to find that out. She would hit him if she did, and it _hurt _when she hit him. He noticed how Crys was staring only at her food and he knew that she wasn't as indifferent to him as she pretended to be. But, seriously, how could she be? _After all I'm handsome and intelligent, _Gold thought to himself. _And funny_ _and just well…Awesome. _If he just kept at it, he knew he'd break through her armor eventually. There was no way she'd be able to resist him. And having Blue's help certainly wouldn't hurt.

Crys refused to order desert, so they left the restaurant sooner than Gold would have liked, but he did manage to convince Crys to go with him on a walk around the lake. On this walk, they found Blue who was talking on the phone.

"Will it make you happy if I smash her phone?" Gold offered. "It can be my Valentine's Day gift to you."

"Actually…it kind of would," Crys replied, sounding surprised at herself.

So Gold walked over to her and smashed Blue's phone.

* * *

><p><strong>A Second Oldrival Moment<strong>

"What do you want this time Blue?" Green asked wearily.

"You did tell me to call you back," Blue reminded.

"I was too tired to know what I was saying," Green defended.

The two actually ended up talking for quite a while, sharing stories of their adventures and sometimes, just arguing. That was until Gold walked over and crushed Blue's phone.

On Green's end, all he heard was a yelp and a disturbing crunching sound as the phone was destroyed. Then the ominous sound of the dial tone. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Hey Green," Red greeted as he came into Green's room. "Is something wrong?" he asked upon seeing Green's expression.

"I think Blue's in trouble," Green replied. As he stared at the phone which still stated 'line disconnected' he felt a cold sense of fear crawling up his spine. _Blue…_

* * *

><p><strong>A Special Moment<strong>

Red dialed the number, faint beeping noises sounding with each press. Once the number was input, he pressed the green call button determinedly. He held the device to his ear, listening anxiously to the ringit exuded every few moments. Just as he was giving up, the ringing stopped and there was a short rustling sound followed by a girl's voice saying, "Hello?"

"Yellow!" Red replied excitedly.

"Red? How are you? I've missed you and – wait, how did you get this number anyway?" she asked abruptly.

"Blue texted it to me," Red answered. "I still don't know how she got _my _number though…"

This reminded Yellow of her conversation with Blue one day earlier in which Blue told her she had prepared a Valentine's gift for her. Yellow was quite afraid at the implications of this at the time, but this, this was actually…thoughtful. Yellow had really missed talking to Red, and Red had missed talking to her as well. The two made up for lost time that day, talking for hours. Yellow hadn't been quite that happy in a long time.

"Oh yeah! Happy Valentine's Day Yellow!" Red exclaimed suddenly.

"Happy Valentine's Day to you too Red."

* * *

><p><strong>A Soulsilver Moment<strong>

"Come on Silver!" Lyra cried as she dragged him by the hand through the town.

"Slow down Lyra," Silver commanded. "The doctor said you're supposed to avoid strenuous activities. Like _running._"

Lyra giggled and taunted, "I didn't know you were so motherly Silver!"

"I'm not _motherly_!" he refuted. "But if you die now it will be my fault and I don't need that on my conscious."

"Sure, sure," Lyra replied in fake agreement. She patted his arm then began skipping away again. Sighing heavily, Silver followed.

The pair soon reached a meadow outside of town where Lyra dropped the basket she had been holding and began to unpack the contents. She was dumping it all in a random pile which Silver started to sort out. He spread out a large red blanket on the grass and neatly arranged the food that Lyra had so unceremoniously deposited on the grass. He eventually finished setting up and the two had a lovely picnic displayed before them.

The blanket was set up at the top of a grassy hill with a stunning view of the surrounding mountains and the various flowers that grew in the area. The two enjoyed (well, Lyra did anyway) the lovely scenery as they ate the meal that Silver had ordered from a local restaurant. Once they had finished, they stayed there for a while, just relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

As the sun set over the hill, bathing the hill in gentle orange light, Lyra whispered, "This is great Silver. Thanks for taking me here."

"You did save my life. Are we even now?"

"Not by a longshot!" Lyra laughed. "I saved your life, you got me a picnic."

"But you saved my life in an idiotic way," Silver complained.

"It doesn't make me any less of a hero," Lyra said.

"I guess it doesn't," Silver murmured inaudibly.

"Did you say something?"

"No."

"I thought I heard something."

"You're obviously insane. You probably have some mental damage from the attack."

"I take it back! You're mean and I don't thank you."

"Whatever." After a few moments of silently watching the sun disappear behind the mountains, Silver said, "Happy Valentine's Day Lyra."

"You too Silver!"

* * *

><p><strong>A Frantic Moment<strong>

Yellow was up in her hotel room and Ruby and his dad were off exploring or something – Sapphire didn't really care. She didn't mind spending Valentine's Day alone, why should she? But for some reason, this Valentine's Day was getting to her. The pink and heart motifs everywhere were nauseating and seeing the couples kissing just made her think of what happened with her and Ruby and made her confused.

Deciding the town wasn't the best place to be; she walked to the outskirts and came to a lake. This turned out to be an even worse place to be as the fireworks were set to appear here and all the couples had arrived early. She was about to leave when she heard someone say her name. Turning around, she searched for the culprit and spotted Ruby and his dad sitting on the grass in front of the lake. Knowing it was wrong, but unable to fight her curiosity, Sapphire crept closer to them. She had to get to the perfect distance, far enough that they couldn't see her but close enough for her to hear. The rapidly darkening sky helped her endeavor immensely.

She could hear their voices, but was unable to make out the words, so she shuffled forward some more, wriggling across the grass like an oversize worm. Eventually she got into hearing range and she hunkered down to listen.

"That girl Sapphire looks familiar," Norman was saying.

"She does?" Ruby asked, sounding almost…_guilty. _But why he would feel guilty made no sense to Sapphire.

There was a long pause followed by Norman musing, "Is she Professor Birch's daughter?"

"I-I don't know," Ruby said, his voice sounding shaky.

"She must be," Norman continued. "You met her when you were younger, that time you were sent to the hospital. And got the scar on your forehead."

Sapphire gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her hand. The boy who saved her all those years ago, her first love, _he _had gotten an injury. She still remembered the waiting room, the _whiteness _of everything. And the doctor, the man who told them the boy was hurt badly enough that he would be left with a scar. One across his forehead. But that was just a coincidence, Sapphire told herself. Ruby couldn't be that boy, it was simply impossible.

Of course there was only one way for her to be completely sure. She needed to get a hold of his hat. She was sure that if she saw his scar she would know if he was the same person or not. So just as the fireworks began to light up the night sky in a glittering display, Sapphire began to plan out Operation Steal Ruby's Hat.

_That hat is as good as mine,_ Sapphire thought gleefully. _I wonder if this is what Blue feels like when she's plotting things…_

* * *

><p><strong>A Tenthshipping Moment?<strong>

"Oh it's Valentine's Day," Wally commented as he and Emerald walked through the streets of New Bark Town.

"Ooooh," Emerald replied as if he had just discovered something amazing. "That's why there's pink hearts everywhere! I thought it was the town mascot or something."

"I think their mascot is the Silver Stars," Wally responded seriously.

"Isn't there a team called the Pink Hearts?"

"Maybe that's Jubilife," Wally suggested. The two continued on debated this, eventually deciding that yes, Jubilife was the one with the Pink Heart mascot.

"Hey a restaurant!" Emerald said pointing out a fancy building across the street. "I'm hungry, let's eat!"

Wally nodded, "I'm hungry too." So the pair walked across the street and over to the restaurant. They entered to the sound of crooning violins and dim, romantic lighting. Wally looked around and saw the candles lighting the tables and all the couples sitting around.

"A table for two?" the waitress asked suggestively.

"No!" Wally yelled. At her and Emerald's startled looks he lied. "I forgot something. Ov-over there!" He pointed outside and then left the establishment as quickly as possible.

"Huh. I wonder what his problem is," Emerald wondered. "Table for one please."

The waitress nodded and led him to a lonely table in the corner. "Sorry things didn't work out between you two," she told him.

"What are you talking about?" Emerald asked confused.

"You aren't…You weren't, you know."

"Weren't what?"

The waitress sighed. "Never mind."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**Two things I should mention, apparently EmeraldxWally is Tenthshipping which is why that's called the tenth moment (It's actually the eighth on this list). When I was writing this I realized they would be alone on Valentine's Day and wrote that. The second thing, in the first chapter White introduces herself as White Touko, so her e-mail is just her name. Anyways, I hope you liked this :)**

**For those of you wondering about Of Princes and Paupers, I'll try to get that up by this weekend. I've been getting a lot of homework lately, so I have less time to write. **


	23. Phone Tag

**Author Note: **

**I'm back! Sorry about the long wait, I had exams and stuff. I was also having problems picking classes for next year and my advisor was completely useless, he just kept talking about how much he loves chemistry and forgetting that we had meetings. But it's summer break now, so I should be able to update more quickly now. I hope you haven't given up on me, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and alerts, it means a lot to me :)**

* * *

><p><em>Previously on MAGE:<em>

_Green got a phone call from Blue, which ended in her screaming when Gold broke her phone. All he heard was a scream and an odd crunching sound and he's worried about her. Sapphire has suspicions about Ruby's hat and is determined to get a hold of it. Ruby reunited with his father who is heading towards Odale Town._

* * *

><p>Chapter 20: Phone Tag<p>

Red POV

"Pallet Town!" I shouted, pointing at the small collection of houses sitting near the shore of a small river.

"I know," Green grumbled.

I sighed internally, I was hoping that a comment as obvious as that would get some sort of threat at least. It was getting to the point that I was actually worried about Green. He had been…off since he talked to Blue. My attempts to figure out what happened have gotten me nothing, and what's worse is I actually _want _him to yell at me. All this time I wanted him to stop, but I'd be happy if he'd just call me an idiot. Because that would mean he's feeling better.

"Aren't you excited to see your family?" I prodded, knowing his hatred of personal questions.

"…" And that was the response I had been getting for the past few days. I'd say 'Hey Green, do you want some dinner?' and he'd reply '…'. What does that even mean? He has no opinion? How can he have no opinion about food? I mean you – "KYAAAA!" What?

The source of the ungodly sound was a blonde woman who was sprinting towards us at an alarming rate. Her eyes were fixed on Green and I saw his eyes get slightly wider, the first show of emotion in several days. The girl basically tackled Green, wrapping her arms around him. "Green!" She cried. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been so long! But what are you doing here? They said you wouldn't be able to visit? Did you learn a lot of cool magic?"

She went on like this until I finally had to interrupt. "Hello, I'm Red!"

The girl finally noticed that I was standing there and released Green.

"I'm Daisy," the girl introduced. "Green's big sister."

"It's nice to meet you," I said politely.

"Are you from MAGE as well?" Daisy asked.

"We, uh," I stammered.

"We have to see Gramps," Green said, finally speaking up.

Daisy sighed. "Friendly as ever," she muttered. "Come on." She walked off towards the main section of Pallet Town. We walked towards the town and the atmosphere of it washed over me. There were still the children playing in the river, adults bustling around shopping, snippets of happy conversations reaching my ears. Pallet really hadn't changed at all. So much had changed in my life, I guess I subconsciously expected my hometown to have as well. That's the kind of thing normal Green would have called me an idiot for.

Half way to the lab I realized some of the townsfolk would probably remember me, and seeing me here would _not _be a good thing. I quickly pulled by hat down lower, trying to inconspicuously cover my face and glanced to see what Green had done. But he hadn't done anything. Normally it was _me _who made all the irresponsible choices. What is wrong with the world?

Soon we arrived at a building I easily recognized; Professor Oak's lab. The lab was the largest building in Pallet and the only reason our town was well-known. Professor Oak is generally considered to be one of the greatest minds there is.

"So this is where you grew up huh?" I commented to Green.

He didn't respond (and at this point I didn't really expect him to) but Daisy did. "Yup! Green and I grew up here with our Grandfather." Daisy walked in the lab gesturing at me to follow. I complied.

"Grandpa!" Daisy called. "You'll never guess who's here!"

There was a shuffling sound and an elderly man entered the room. I recognized him immediately from various news articles and magazine covers, the brilliant professor himself. Professor Samuel Oak.

"Green?" the professor said confused. "It's wonderful to see you of course, but how are you here?"

"…" realizing Green wasn't going to be forthcoming, I decided to step in.

"I'm Red," I introduced. "Green and I are on an investigation. The principal of MAGE gave us important information to relay to the Kanto mage council." I don't like lying to people, especially not nice ones like Professor Oak seems to be, but it's best he doesn't know the truth. It would just divide his loyalties.

"The council," Professor Oak mused. "I just got a rather odd message from the council."

"I'll get it," Daisy offered, dashing off up the stairs and coming back a few minutes later holding a phone. She pressed a few buttons then handed the phone to me.

On the screen was a map with a large red dot marking a location. Underneath the picture was a short message. _Due to changes in our policies we are telling all our associates the location of their mage council – Lance. _

I showed the message to Green who finally showed some emotion. "This is it," he said, hope filling his tone. "Let's go." He spun around and started to leave.

"Wait!" Professor Oak exclaimed. "You have to stay for lunch, I insist."

Daisy and the professor wrangled Green into a chair where he sat dejectedly. While this was going on I pulled out my phone and made a quick call. It rang a few times, then went to voicemail. "Hi Yellow, it's Red. Have you talked to Blue recently? Green's been acting weird ever since he talked to her on Valentine's Day. Also we found the Pallet council! There was this odd message Lance sent to Professor Oak and – Oh, lunch is ready. Call me back!" I hung up and tossed the phone into my bag.

* * *

><p>Littleroot Town<p>

Yellow POV

We had a quick stop in Odale town where we stayed the night. Ruby parted with his father in less than touching farewell and we continued on to Littleroot Town. It didn't take long to get to Littleroot and it was still morning when we arrived. The only strange thing on the trip was Sapphire. She wasn't arguing with Ruby she was just…staring at him. Or more accurately, at his hat. She seemed to have a plan, and Sapphire planning is never a good thing. Something bad was going happen.

"We're in Littleroot, isn't that great?" I said, attempting to start a conversation.

Sapphire remained silent, her eyes still fixed on Ruby. "It sure is," Ruby replied, seemingly oblivious to Sapphire's predatory gaze. "I can finally wash all this dirt off!" Ruby gestured at himself, but I couldn't see a speck of dirt on him. He has weird dirt detector eyes or something.

When Sapphire didn't comment on his girly comment I knew something was off, but I was at a loss of what to do. At least they weren't arguing when she was all weird. A sharp ringing tone reached my ears and I reached into my bag for my phone. My finger was above the green phone key when I heard a piercing shriek. The sight that met my eyes was Sapphire triumphantly holding Ruby's hat and Ruby vainly trying to cover his head. During my inspection I noticed that Ruby's hair was black. For some reason I had just assumed it was white like his hat, but now that I think about it that doesn't make sense… Why would he have white hair?

While I was pondering Ruby's hair color, he turned and ran back towards the road, Sapphire giving chase. I briefly considered following, but it seemed like too much work. They had to come back anyway. A loud beep from the phone in my hands reminded me that it had been ringing. The screen showed that I had a message, so I listened. After I finished with his message I called Red back, but he didn't answer. "Hi Red, this is Yellow. Sorry but I haven't heard from Blue since before Valentine's Day. I did try to call her yesterday but she didn't pick up. But you found the Pallet council? That's incredible! We just got to Littleroot Town and Sapphire stole Ruby's hat and I'm really confused."

"Excuse me," an elderly male voice said. I turned and saw a man who looked a little bit like Sapphire. Thus his next words didn't come as much of a shock. "I'm professor Birch."

"I'm Yellow," I replied. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. You were just with Sapphire right?"

"Ah, yes. But I'm not really sure where she went."

"No worries," the man said jollily. "I'm sure she'll come see me eventually."

I was a bit disconcerted about how normal he was about Sapphire not being at MAGE, but then remembered that he was related to Sapphire. She had told me stories about her lifestyle, leaving home, randomly returning a few days later. I doubt that there's anything that could surprise this man now.

"Why are you holding your phone like that?" the professor asked.

"Huh?" I blinked, then realized I was still in the call with Red. I had just left that entire conversation in his voicemail. "Ah! I'm so sorry Red! Er…" Then I abruptly hung up. That's going to be a weird message.

"Were you talking to someone?" Professor Birch asked. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's fine," I reassured him. Even though you did just make me look stupid, I added internally.

"Why don't you come inside," Birch suggested, gesturing towards his lab. "I'm sure Sapphire will come by soon."

* * *

><p>Professor Oak's Lab<p>

Green POV

Blue. She was all I could think about. Ever since Valentine's Day. We were talking, and the line cut out to her scream… Why? Why can't I think about anything else? Even Red being his usual annoying self isn't distracting me. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

The others sent me such a strange look I wondered if I had spoken my last thought aloud but then I felt something sticky hit my hand. I glanced down and noticed that I had spilled syrup on my hand and all over my potatoes_. _I had practically drowned them in it. Act natural. Just act natural. "Syrup is good on potatoes," I claimed. Mentally, I slapped myself. How is that normal?

* * *

><p>Red POV<p>

The meal was extremely good, though Green didn't seem to take much pleasure in it. But that was probably because everything he ate was covered in syrup. I quickly walked back to my bag hoping that Yellow had called me back. I was not disappointed. However, what followed was the weirdest message I had ever received. It started out normal, but then she started talking to someone else, but all I could hear was her half of the conversation. Then she apologized and abruptly hung up.

After taking a few moments to save the message (I couldn't delete it, it was just too funny) I called Yellow back. The phone went to voicemail. "Really?" I yelled at the universe. "Uh, I wasn't talking to you Yellow," I said to the answering machine. "Just complaining to the universe."

"We need to leave," Green said as he breezed past me.

"Huh? Right now? Sorry Yellow," I hung up the phone.

"Wait," the professor said, as we were walking out the door. He held out two red objects towards us and the Pokémon fan in me went crazy.

"Is that! Pokédex? That! Pokémon?" I was trying to say, 'is that a Pokédex for identifying Pokemon,' but for some reason the words just wouldn't come out right.

"This is a Pokédex," Professor Oak replied.

"What's it do?" Green asked, turning the device over in his hands and _not _staring at it like it was the most amazing thing ever created, which it totally is.

"What does it _do_?" I repeated aghast. "It displays data about Pokémon and tells you what moves they know and - I can finally find out what level Saur is!" I fumbled with the Poké Ball in my excitement but eventually released the Pokémon.

"Saur?" the plant Pokémon said quizzically. I pointed the Pokédex at it and looked at the display at first with excitement, which quickly faded.

"You're… level five?" I said with faint disbelief. "And all you know is Tackle and Growl…"

Green snickered slightly and bragged, "Mine's level fifteen." His Charmander smirked at Saur.

"That will make it all the more amazing when we win, right Saur?" Saur sent me an uncertain look, but nodded all the same. "Bring it on Green!"

Green turned and walked out the door, saying diffidently, "We don't have time for this Red. And it's obvious I would win anyway."

"Saur Vine Whip!" I commanded, to which Saur sent me a 'what?' look. "Oh…that's right, you don't know that move. Fine, we can put our fight off until Saur and I get some training in. Thanks for all the stuff Professor!" I said cheerily as I hurried after Green, who hadn't waited for me in the slightest.

* * *

><p>Littleroot Town<p>

Sapphire POV

It was him. All along it was him. I guess a part of me probably knew that all along. When he ran, my first instinct was to follow him, though my brain was telling me to just let him go. After all, he obviously didn't want me to know who he was, why else would he have hidden his scar from me? But as my body automatically followed him I realized I actually _did _want to follow him. I thought I was betraying him by having feelings for Ruby, but the boy from back then and Ruby are the same person. I've only ever had feelings for him. And no way was I giving up on him now.

I gained on Ruby and once I was close enough, I tackled him to the ground. We landed in a heap on the dirty road, and for once, Ruby didn't complain how filthy his clothes were getting. "Jerk! Why didn' ya tell me who ya were? How long did ya know?" I demanded.

"Know what?" Ruby asked, though he knew full well what I meant. I glared at him. "A while," he finally admitted.

"I loved you!" I blurted out, quickly covering my mouth but unable to recall the words.

Ruby's eyes broke away from my gaze and stared at the ground guiltily. "I loved you too," he said quietly.

"Then why did you hide this from me?"

"I didn't want our current relationship to get weird!"

"You made it weirder!"

"I know!" This was followed by a silence each of us glaring at the other.

Following a sudden impulse, I leaned over and kissed him. His arms wrapped around me and he kissed me back. This was different from our accidental kiss in the carnival, because we both meant it this time. And I realized, there was no one I ever wanted to be with. Ruby would always be the one I love. Nothing's going to change that.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

Professor Birch had taken me inside his lab and I instantly fell in love with it. Every surface in the lab was completely covered in all different kinds of flowers and vines. "This is beautiful!" I gushed.

"Thank you," the professor said happily. "It's my life's work. I've been trying to get data on every plant there is though I haven't gotten very far though." He laughed. "I doubt my work will even be finished in my lifetime. Isn't nature amazing?"

"It really is." I walked around the room, simply taking in the aroma of the plants. I miss Viridian Forest…

Professor Birch was telling me all about the different plants present in his lab when Sapphire and Ruby walked inside. I instantly noticed something was different about them. It might have been because of my intuitive abilities, or it might have been because they were holding hands.

I stared at their clasped hands in confusion. Sapphire stared back at me in equal confusion and asked, "Is somethin' wrong?" She followed my gaze and realized what I was staring at.

She began blushing, but Ruby stated simply, "We're dating."

"I remember you," Professor Birch said. "You met Sapphire years ago. I always thought you two were a perfect match."

"Papa?" Sapphire said startled. "Papa!" She ran at the older man and hugged him. "I didn't notice you were here!"

"He's been standing here to whole time," Ruby pointed out.

Sapphire ignored him and continued talking to her father. "This is Ruby and I guess you already met Yellow. They're my friends from school!" Sapphire took a moment to take in the lab. "The lab's just like I remember it. I should have brought Toro with me, you would have loved him."

Toro? Oh! Her familiar. "Where _is _Toro anyway?" I wondered aloud.

"I left him at school to guard my stuff."

"…What stuff?"

"We didn't get to bring much to MAGE," Ruby added.

Sapphire ignored both of us. "He's my familiar," she told Professor Birch. "He's a talking Venus Flytrap! I'll make sure to bring him next time I visit!"

"I'd love to meet him," Professor Birch enthused.

"Uh, professor," I interrupted. "We left MAGE looking for the Hoenn mage council. Do you know anything about where it might be located?"

"Actually I do," Professor Birch replied. He walked over to what I assumed was his desk, but there were so many plants growing atop it, it appeared to be a rectangular bush. He gently, almost reverently, moved some of the leaves aside and procured an object that had been hidden in the foliage. "Here," he said, handing me the object.

It was covered in pieces of leaf and bits of dirt, but I still recognized it as a cell phone. Lucky it wasn't a smartphone, I doubt the screen would have worked through all that grime. I pressed a button and the screen lit up showing a picture of him and Sapphire. "What does this have to do with the council?" I asked.

He glanced over and shook his head, "Not that!" He grabbed the phone back and pressed a few buttons. "This!"

I took the phone back and Ruby and Sapphire read over my shoulder. It was a message from Lance. "This sounds like the message Professor Oak got," I mused.

"Well all the important people employed by the mage council are being told where their respective magical council is," Professor Birch explained. "Professor Oak is certainly one of those."

I nodded and handed Professor Birch's phone to Sapphire as I reached into my bag to find my own. "I'm going to call Red," I explained as I left the room. A blinking red light told me I had a message, I guess it was muffled by my bag. I listened to the message then called Red. "Hi Red. Professor Birch got a message from Lance too with the location of the Hoenn council. I guess we're going to leave tomorrow morning so that Sapphire can spend more time with her dad, but we haven't actually talked about it yet. I hope you're doing all right." I abruptly hung up. I really miss Red.


	24. Mansions, Professors, and Bases, Oh My!

**Author Note: I'm back! **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, alerted! Thank you for being patient with me, I know my updates have been really sporadic lately, but I'm definitely not going to abandon the story, I've just been busy lately, but I know exactly what's going to happen and I'll definitely finish it. **

* * *

><p><em>Previously on MAGE:<em>

_Crys, Blue and Gold stayed with Professor Rowan, who promised to take them to meet Platina's father in the hopes of finding the location of the Sinnoh Mage Council. Blue forced Crys and Gold into a Valentine's Day date which ended with Gold destroying Blue's phone to make Crys happy. _

_Emerald and Wally were last seen in New Bark town._

_White, Dia and Pearl chose to follow a council agent named Midelle who turns out to be Nazo's sister and claims that she can help find him and hopefully Platina. _

* * *

><p>Chapter 21: Mansions, Professors, and Bases, Oh My!<p>

Sinnoh

Sandgem Town

Blue's POV

Disappointing. I set up a romantic Valentine's Day date for Gold and Crys, and what do I get for my trouble? A broken phone. The remains of said device sat in front of me on Professor Rowan's desk. "Do you think it's fixable?" I asked aloud, not speaking to anyone in particular.

"Yeeeah," Crys drawled. "It's only in about a hundred pieces. I'm sure it's fixable." She held up the deformed SIM card as evidence.

"It's just a little bent," Gold said, snatching the object from Crys. He attempted to bend it back into a rectangular shape, but by the time he gave it back to me it looked more like a pyramid than a flat rectangle. I gave a heavy sigh and shoved the pieces off the desk and into a trash can.

"I need to find a new phone," I declared.

"Actually, we need to find the Sinnoh council," Crys said. "Your new phone can wait." My new phone _can't _wait. Stupid Crys never letting me have any fun.

Mr. Rowan entered the room as I was planning my escape. "I can take you all to see Mr. Berlitz now," he said. "Come this way." The older man departed the lab, assuming we would follow him. I followed, thinking I could escape and sneak off to a store on the way, but I was stopped by Crys, the killjoy. She had grabbed my arm in a vice-grip and ensured I remained with the group. I struggled for a few seconds then remembered that she was a force mage, and as awesome as I am, I really can't beat Crys in a physical fight. So grudgingly I conceded to her will. Just this once.

* * *

><p>Gold POV<p>

"This is his home," Professor Rowan announced once he had come to a halt in front of a mansion. A freaking _mansion_.

"What? He lives _here_?" I asked aghast and more than a little impressed. Based on the size of the building I'd assumed it was a mall, or a school, or something communal. Not a _house._ "Does Platina have, like, ten siblings or something?"

Rowan laughed. "Of course not," he replied. "It's just Platina, her father, mother and her butler."

"She has a _butler?_" Blue all but screamed.

"Yes of course," Rowan replied.

"Is his name Alfred?" I asked.

"No, it's Sebastian," Rowan replied. He knocked on the door and was greeted by a man in a black suit.

"Ah, Professor Rowan," the butler, Sebastian, greeted. I couldn't stop a giggle from escaping my lips. It's just, a _real butler! _"Are you here to see Mr. Berlitz?"

"Yes we are Sebastian," Rowan replied.

"Right this way then." Sebastian led us down the hallway and I had to stifle more laughter. It was only the weight of Crys's glare that kept me from laughing so hard I fell over.

As we walked down an ornate hallway I noticed Blue surreptitiously snatching something off of a table, but she was too quick for me to identify what it was. The butler led us to a room with a central table. In a normal house, I would assume it was the dining room. But in this house, it was probably a storage closet. Despite it being about as large as our entire dorm at MAGE. The room was sparsely decorated and the chairs seemed to be aimed at the back wall. This confused me. The wall was painted black and there was nothing hanging on it. Why would someone want to stare at a giant black wall? After puzzling over the set up of the room I realized there was a man standing in front of the wall.

"Greetings Professor," the man said politely.

"Nice to see you Mr. Berlitz," Rowan replied.

"And greetings to all of you as well. I'm Mr. Berlitz." Is his name…Mister?

"I'm Crystal," Crys said. "This is Blue and he's Gold." Blue waved jauntily at him. Probably wondering how much of his stuff she could steal before he noticed.

"Nice to meet ya'" I said, smiling at Mr. Berlitz.

"What can I do for all of you?" Mr. Berlitz asked.

"We have urgent business with the Sinnoh Mage Council," Crys explained. "We were hoping you could help us find it."

"What kind of information?" Mr. Berlitz asked curiously.

"Information about Team Galactic …and where they're holding your daughter."

"Platina?" he said sharply. "Is she alright?"

"To be honest, we're not sure. Some of our friends are out looking for her, but we haven't heard from them in a while. Hopefully they've already saved her, but we want to get the councils help in case they haven't."

"Of course I'll do anything I can to help you. They made the location of the councils public to associates anyway."

"Wait – it's not a secret?" Professor Rowan said shocked. "Why didn't I know?"

"They sent the message to everyone who works or is associated with the council. You should have been informed." Mr. Berlitz replied. He picked up a remote from the center table and pressed a button. That's when I realized that wall hadn't been painted black at all; the wall was actually a giant TV.

"Wow," I said completely awed. That was by far the largest TV I had ever seen, or seen since.

"I think that's too big to sneak into my bag," Blue mused.

Mr. Berlitz pressed a few more buttons and the screen changed to show a map of the world and a red dot. Underneath was a message from Lance, explaining that they were no longer hiding the location of the council.

"That's easy enough to find," Crys mused, staring at the screen. "It shouldn't take us too long to get there. Thank you very much Mr. Berlitz. We'll do our best to save your daughter and I'm sure our friends are trying their hardest as well."

"Good luck. Please tell me as soon as you have news of my daughter," Mr. Berlitz said as we started to leave. He gave Crys a piece of paper which he said had his contact information and left the mansion. We stopped outside the mansion and Crys turned to Professor Rowan.

"We should leave as soon as possible," Crys said. "Thanks for all your help professor."

"You're welcome. It was nice to meet you kids. Especially you Blue," Rowan replied. "Good luck finding your friend."

"Thanks," Blue said. "And remember the coolness lessons I gave you!"

A few minutes down the road, Crys broke the silence. "Blue, what is that?" I glanced at Blue at Crys's question and saw the brunette holding a smart looking…smart phone. The image of Blue snatching the object off the table ran through my mind again.

"Did you take that from Platina's house?" I wondered.

"Maybe," Blue said which, when translated from Blue-speak into English means "you know I did."

She fiddled with the phone for a few moments, pressing buttons and becoming more and more agitated.

"What's wrong?" Crys asked. "Other than the fact that you stole from your friend's family."

"It doesn't work!" Blue exclaimed angrily.

"I guess that's what you get for stealing," Crys said, looking very self-satisfied.

Blue glared at the phone then suddenly shrieked. "It's got eyes!" She held the phone for us to see and I saw that it did indeed have eyes. Small black ones, but eyes all the same. The sight of eyes on an inanimate object sparked something in my brain and I remembered a similar thing happening on an episode of Pokémon.

"Ditto?" I mused.

The creature seemed to respond to the use of its name and the phone appeared to melt, ending up as a pink blob in Blue's arms. "What is this?" she demanded.

"A Ditto," I replied.

Crys pulled out her new Pokédex and scanned it. _"Ditto, the Transform Pokémon. Ditto has the ability to reconstruct its entire cellular structure into whatever it sees,"_ a robotic voice informed.

After the voice died down, Blue cackled. "This is _great!" _she exclaimed. "This is going to be sooo handy for my heists! I can take something, leave Ditto in its place and they won't know until Ditto transforms back!"

"The Ditto's not even yours!" Crys accused. "You need to go give it back."

Blue grinned at her, pulled out a Poké Ball and pressed the button, catching the Ditto. "Now it's mine!"

"The Ditto's never been caught before?" I said confused. "Did Mister even know it was there?"

"Ditty," Blue corrected. "Its name is Ditty. And who's Mister?"

"Mister Berlitz," I replied.

"His name isn't actually Mister," Crys pointed out.

"Well what is it then?"

Crys opened her mouth then abruptly closed it again. "Uh…Actually I don't know," she admitted.

"Then how do you know it isn't Mister?"

I could see Crys attempting to come up with a retort, but in the end she just let out an irritated sound and turned away from me. Ha! Point to me!

* * *

><p>Johto<p>

New Bark Town

Wally POV

Emerald and I had made it to New Bark Town after our harrowing journey and I was quite happy to stay here for a few days. It seems like every time we try to go somewhere we end up in some terrible situation, and I'm tired of it. I had convinced Emerald to stay here, and he must have been as tired as me because he actually agreed. And he barely ever agrees with me.

We walking around the peaceful town and I was basking in the relaxed feeling when I heard an out of place growling sound. "What's that?" I wondered. I searched for the source of the sound and saw a group of dark colored Pokémon surrounding something.

"Mightyena," Emerald replied once we found the source.

"What are they doing?" I crept closer to the group, trying to remain unthreatening. But as I got closer I became convinced they were attacking something. Having been weak and defenseless for most of my childhood, I refused to leave someone in danger. I concentrated and threw a gust of wind at the Pokémon, pushing them back and away from their target. This revealed a small green Pokémon which had curled in on itself, trying to protect itself from the worst of the blows. The Mightyena righted themselves and glared at me before hurtling straight towards me. Emerald quickly lowered the ground underneath them, trapping them in a hole. With the Mightyena taken care of, I switched my attention to the injured Pokémon and knelt by it.

Upon further inspection I recognized the green Pokémon as a Treecko. "Are you okay?" I asked it. It glared in response to my question as if to say "Of course I'm not okay."

"Awesome," Emerald commented. "You can be my Pokémon," he told the Treecko.

"But, I was the one who saved it," I interrupted.

"I trapped the Mightyena!"

"But I helped first!"

"You'd have been eaten by the Mightyena if it weren't for me."

"Treecko would still be being attacked by them if it weren't for _me._"

"Treecko!" a different voice called over our argument. A man in a lab coat came running towards us and stopped next to the Treecko, taking it in his arms. "Poor thing," he cooed. He reached into his bag and pulled out a potion which he proceeded to use on the Grass Pokémon.

"Is that _your _Treecko?" Emerald asked.

"Yes," the man replied. "Thank you for helping him." With that the man stood and began walking away.

"Hey!" Emerald accosted. "You obviously can't take care of your Pokémon if _we _had to save it. It should be mine now."

"Emerald," I chided. "It's his Pokémon."

"I take excellent care of all my Pokémon," the man retorted, clearly offended. With good reason really, Emerald can be really rude sometimes (all the time). "Come with me. I'm going to show you my lab and prove that I care about my Pokémon!" The man stomped off, clearly expecting us to follow, and since I really had no better ideas, I followed him. Emerald seemed to want to stay where he was, but he eventually followed all the same.

The man led us through the town to one of the larger buildings (which still wasn't very big) and announced, "Here we are."

"Wait, you're Professor Elm?" Emerald said, surprise evident in his tone.

"Yes."

"Who?" I asked dumbly.

"Professor Elm, arguably the most influential professor in Johto and one of the greatest in the world." Emerald answered. "I'm Emerald." The last was directed at Elm.

"I'm Wally." I said instinctively. Internally I was still processing the information. The man with us was one of the greatest professors in the _world_? He just seems like a normal guy.

"Come on inside." I automatically complied and was greeted with the sight of tables cluttered with different kinds of lab equipment. There were also various Pokémon sitting around the room. The Pokémon looked happy to me, each of them playing games, sleeping or eating. "See!" Elm said. "They're very happy here with me." Emerald grudgingly agreed with him and I hoped he had finally given up his claim on the Treecko, which had escaped Professor Elm's arms and was now eating in the corner with some of the other Pokémon.

A sudden beeping sound interrupted our conversation with the professor. "What _is _that?" Emerald complained.

"My phone." Elm replied while pulling the device out of his pocket. "I got an e-mail." I saw Emerald lean over his shoulder and started to rebuke him, but gave up before I started realizing I was never able to stop him from doing things anyway.

"The council location?" Emerald said.

"What about it?" I asked.

"That's what he was just e-mailed. Along with a message from Lance."

"You're going to suggest we go there aren't you?" I asked as Emerald said "We should go there!" I sighed and said, "Fine. Let's go."

"Wait!" Emerald shouted before I left the lab. "I'm not leaving without my Treecko."

"It's not yours!" Elm and I shouted simultaneously.

"But I saved it," Emerald insisted.

Elm sighed and said, "I'll make you a deal. I give each of you a Pokémon and you leave Treecko with me. Okay?"

"You're going to give us Pokémon?" I said surprised.

"They should be out in the world anyway," Elm replied. "But I need Treecko here. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Fine," Emerald consented.

Elm turned to one of his desks and retrieved two Poké Balls as well as some sort of device. He handed one Poké Ball to me and said "This is a Kecleon." He handed the other to Emerald. "This is a Sudowoodo. And this -" he held up the device. "- is a Pokédex. Unfortunately I only have one left, so you're going to have to share."

"We have to _share?_" Emerald said as if it were the worst thing that could possibly happen.

"It's either share or you don't get one at all," Elm replied.

"Fine I'll share. Let's get out of here Wally." I sighed exasperatedly but followed all the same."

* * *

><p>Sinnoh<p>

Unknown Location

White POV

"Has anyone else noticed that we've been doing a lot of walking lately?" Dia asked absently as he, Pearl and I followed Midelle along the path.

"Yes!" Pearl yelled. "We've all noticed!"

"We should be there soon." Midelle's cool voice cut through the tension.

"Really?" Pearl, Dia and I asked in unison, all three of our faces showing a mix of excitement and relief. Midelle nodded. I would be so happy when I could stop walking. And sleep in a real bed and eat real food. But every time I start thinking this way I remember Platina. However uncomfortable things are out here in the wilderness, they must be worse for her. And it's my fault she's there.

"Are you excited to see your brother?" I asked idly trying to pull myself away from the worry for Platina that plagued me.

"No," Midelle answered succinctly.

"Really? If it was a member of my family I'd be really excited to see them!"

"Have any of the members of your family kidnapped someone?" Midelle retorted.

"Er – no. No they haven't. Sorry."

She waved off my apology and said, "We were never close anyway. He's always been a bit…off. I think me becoming a mage just sent him over the edge."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked.

"Magic travels through bloodlines. He figured there just wasn't any magic in his blood. But if I became a mage it means he had the potential too, he just never activated it." Midelle replied.

"I never wanted to be a mage," Dia mused. "I mean I don't mind it, but it wasn't something I particularly wanted."

"Most people don't," Midelle said. "But Nazo's not most people. We're here." She pointed to a hill standing in stark contrast to the flat grasslands surrounding it.

"That's a hill." Pearl said.

"I'm sensing Nazo's somewhere inside that hill," Midelle said.

"…He's in the hill," Pearl repeated.

"It must be a secret base!" Dia said, getting excited. "There's probably a secret entrance and everything!"

"How do we find a secret entrance?" I wondered despairingly.

"We could just ask that guy," Midelle said pointing to a man in a white uniform who was walking around the hill. Before I could protest and say how terrible that idea sounded, Midelle had already walked over to him.

"How do you get in the base?" she asked him. He stared at her in confusion, which was doubled when she said, "Thank you."

"We can't let him tell people we're here," Pearl said urgently to Dia and me.

"What do we do?" I asked, panic starting to grip me.

Pearl ran towards the man and tackled him to the ground. "Does anyone have rope?" he asked.

"Nope," I replied. Dia answered in the negative as well. Midelle, however, had rope in one of her pockets. She handed it to Pearl who tied and gagged the man then dragged him away from the hill and out of sight behind a few bushes.

"That should buy us some time," Pearl commented.

"Where's the door?" I asked Midelle.

"Over there," she replied pointing to the right a little ways.

"Let's go then," I suggested. Our retreat was stopped by the sound of a voice coming from the location of the gagged man. I carefully made my way to him and found the voice coming from a small black walkie-talkie.

"Sector four report," the voice was saying. "Sector four. Are you there?" I dropped the walkie-talkie in shock, but Pearl caught it before it hit the ground.

"Yeah this is sector four," he said, trying to lower his voice (and failing for the most part). "Nothing unusual here."

"…Are you alright sector four?" the voice asked. "I'll send backup."

"No!" Pearl yelled. "Uh – I mean I'm fine. No use wasting man-power right?" He trailed off with a nervous laugh.

"I'm sending someone," the voice said firmly.

Pearl threw the black object in anger. "So much for buying time," he grumbled.

"We should hurry then," I said, gesturing at Midelle to lead us to the door. She walked around the hill and stopped at a point. I couldn't see anything different about it, but she pressed on a few different places in front of her and the hill opened, revealing a metal door. Midelle turned the handle and pushed inwards, leading the way inside the secret base.

The inside was about what I was expecting. The door led straight into a long hallway which was made completely of metal, and though I had yet to see any of the rest of the base, I assumed it was all metal as well. We exited the hallway into a large oval room. The room had two stories, though the second story was just a ring of balconies leaving the center free and allowing a complete view of the first floor from the second. The hallway we had come from was on the second floor, which was lucky because the majority of the guards seemed to be on the first floor. The guards were all wearing the same outfit; a white shirt, black pants, boots and a black mask which covered their entire head, including their face.

"How are we going to find Platina in here?" Pearl whispered.

"Guess and check?" Dia suggested.

"Can you read their minds?" I asked Midelle.

"No," she replied. "There's too many together. If I could get one alone I could find out, but with this many together I won't be able to sort through it all."

"This way," Pearl hissed, leading the way down a hallway close to the one we had come from. When I rounded the corner to walk down the hallway I noticed four guards walking ahead of us. I shot Pearl a confused look but he didn't seem particularly bothered by the guards close proximity. He suddenly threw his arms out towards the guards, sending a wave of air blasting towards them and knocking them over. "We have to knock them out!" he explained as he ran towards the guards, who were struggling to get to their feet again. I considered sending out Bubu, but decided using a Pokémon to fight humans was a bad idea. Instead, I threw myself at the closet guard, keeping him down with my body. Pearl was throwing two of the guards around with his air powers while Dia sat on the last one. Midelle just watched the event with an amused look on her face.

After successfully beating the guards I glared at Midelle. "Thanks for the help," I said sarcastically.

"You did alright without me," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but you're the Council agent, aren't you supposed to be protecting us?" Pearl retorted.

"No one ever said anything about protecting," Midelle replied.

"You didn't…" I trailed off then started again. "You didn't bring us along to fight through the base _for you_, did you?"

"I thought you'd help anyway," she said with a shrug. So she brought us to fight for her. After the initial anger, I realized she had gotten us to the base which is better than we would have done on her own. So really her motives were immaterial.

"We have to get these guys out of sight," Pearl commented, bringing my mind back around to the situation at hand.

"Right," I replied with a nod. Each of us took one of the guards and dragged them into an empty room Pearl found close by.

"Okay. Now we're going to wear their uniforms," Pearl announced.

"Right. Wait – what?" I exclaimed.

"It's what they always do on TV shows," Dia answered excitedly. "Dress up like the bad guys so no one knows they're there!"

"…Uh," I started.

"Just put it on," Pearl commanded, pushing a mask into my arms. I put the guards outfit on over my own clothes, but they were still baggy on me regardless. The others looked similarly ridiculous, the only one pulling it off was Midelle, but that was mainly due to her being five years older (and thus quite a bit taller) than Pearl, Dia and me.

After ensuring that we had all put the armor on correctly (which was lucky because Dia had somehow managed to put his shirt on backwards) we left the room again. "You didn't happen to get Platina's location from the guards did you?" Pearl asked Midelle, doubt obvious in his voice.

"They weren't exactly thinking about prisons while you were beating them up," Midelle replied. "So, no."

At a loss, we decided to go back to the oval room. Once there we were accosted by a guard. "You four!" he yelled. "You were supposed to be checking on the prisoners. Get going!" Then he helpfully pointed out the hallway we needed to walk down to get to the prison.

We shuffled off, trying to look chastised, but once we were out of view Dian and Pearl high-fived and I danced a bit excitedly to myself. "That could not have gone better!" I exclaimed happily. Walking along the hallway, we arrived a room labeled 'Prison'. "I guess this is it," I said.

Pearl opened the door and we walked inside.

"Platina!" Dia exclaimed, running towards the girl who was tied to a chair. Dia immediately began removing the ropes binding her and Platina was soon able to stand, only to be knocked off her feet by the combined weight of Dia and Pearl hugging her. I was about to join in when I noticed that Platina wasn't the only prisoner in the room.

"Bianca?" I said shocked.

"White!" she replied. I ran towards her and hugged her, which was extremely awkward since she was still tied to the chair. Once I freed her I helped her stand up and took a closer look at her. Bianca and Platina were both unkempt and could obviously use a good meal and a long rest, but they didn't appear to have any injuries for which I was truly grateful.

"Not to bother anyone," Midelle commented. "But I think this was a trap."

"What?" I turned around to see Midelle by the door we had entered. But now it was closed.

"It's locked," Midelle said, answering my unspoken question.

"Wait, you mean we're trapped?" Pearl asked.

I ran back towards the door, but Midelle was correct. It was locked and from the looks of the door, we weren't going to be able to break out. I turned back around to face the others. Our situation was bleak certainly, trapped in the very prison we were trying to free Platina from. But as I stared at my friends I realized we had all come a long way since I first came to MAGE and met them. I saw my friends, Bianca, my oldest friend looking braver than I'd ever seen her, Dia supporting Platina, Pearl standing next to them, even Midelle though I hardly knew her and I realized we were going to make it out of this. As long as we stuck together we _would_ find a way out of this.

* * *

><p>Team Galactic Base<p>

3rd Person

"How much longer until we are ready to proceed?" asked Ghetsis.

"Not long now," answered Cyrus. "Not long at all."

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note:<strong>

**I hope you liked it! I'll try my best to get the next one up sooner. I hope you haven't all given up on me... I'm excited for the next chapter though, so that should encourage me to write :) **


	25. In Which they Find the Council

**Author Note:**

**I really hope you like it! And thank you so much to the people who reviewed, favorited, and alerted. You're all such nice people :) **

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: In Which They Find the Council and Things Get Real<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Kanto, On the Road to the Kanto Council<strong>

Red's POV

Green seemed to have thrown off his depressed state for an extremely focused one, and he was using it all on getting us to the council as quickly as possible. And while I was happy Green was no longer depressed, I was getting really tired. Green had even managed to wear Saur out. I had gotten in the habit of letting the Bulbasaur run alongside us, but the poor guy had nearly fainted from exhaustion and I'd had to return him to his Poké Ball to recover. Green's Charmander, on the other hand, was refusing to admit defeat and bravely marched with us, even though it was obvious he was as tired as Saur and I both were.

"Hey….Green," I panted eventually. "Maybe," *pant* "Maybe we should," *puff* "Take a break."

"No," Green refused, without even pausing. Charmander sent me a look that clearly implied he thought I was weak. Which normally would have upset me, but at this point I just wanted a drink of water. Luckily for me, we soon got to a sign which proudly proclaimed "**COUNCIL IN 0.25 MILES.**"

"We're almost there!" I exclaimed.

Charmander tried to smother its sigh of relief, but wasn't completely successful. The last quarter mile passed in a flash of burning muscles and dusty road and then the road dead-ended into a mountain.

"Is this a joke?" I wondered. The mountain towered over us and seemed to be the only thing around. A quick survey of the scenery revealed no structures or people.

"No, this is the council," Green said, pointing out a sign stuck to the side of the mountain which stated "**MAGE COUNCIL**."

"…Right. Where's the door?" Green shrugged at my question and began to run his hands along the wall searching for a door. Then he suddenly fell through the wall.

"Green!" I exclaimed running to where he had disappeared and finding him sprawled on the ground half through a well concealed doorway.

"Found it," Green mumbled. I helped Green up and we went the rest of the way into the room. The air conditioning was a relief and I spent a few moments reveling in the cool feeling on my skin before looking around the room. It ends up the room wasn't even really a room at all, it was just an entryway leading to a spiral staircase.

"Do we…have to walk up those?" I asked, daunted.

Green took a deep breath and began to ascend the stairs. I followed him and hoped that the staircase would be short.

* * *

><p><strong>200 Steps Later<strong>

It wasn't. Charmander had given up after the first fifty steps and was relaxing in its Poké Ball. I was extremely envious.

"Are we almost there?" I panted.

"We must be," Green groaned.

"Maybe this is some kind of test," I mused. "If we make it up the stairs, we get to talk to the leader."

"Shut up," Green grumbled. "Talking uses energy." It seemed sage advice, so we continued the rest of the way up the steps in silence.

By the time we got to the top of the steps, we had been reduced to basically crawling we were so tired. We both collapsed on the ground at the top of the stairs, panting. Two large black shoes came into view and I looked up to see a man with spiky red hair.

"Lance?" I said.

"Yes, I'm Lance," the man replied. "Who are you?"

I stumbled to my feet along with Green, who looked much less disheveled than me (typical). "I'm Red and this is Green."

"Welcome to the Mage Council," Lance said. There was a loud dinging sound and I looked to see two doors sliding open, releasing the people inside. And the three people that came out of the door surprised me completely.

"Yellow? Ruby and Sapphire?" I exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Red!" Yellow said, confused. "But this is the Hoenn council, why are you here?"

"Actually," Lance interrupted. "All four councils are located in this mountain. We said that there were more to help confuse the location."

"You mean... All the councils are here. In this cave. So all of us splitting up was completely pointless." Sapphire said.

"Apparently," Green replied.

As I stared at my three friends something occurred to me. "How did you three get up here?" I wondered. "You don't even look winded."

"We took the elevator," Sapphire replied.

"There's an elevator?" I exclaimed unhappily. "All those steps…for nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>Several Minutes Earlier<strong>

Yellow POV

This is it! The Hoenn council! It's been a long journey getting here. I had to put up with Ruby and Sapphire's ridiculous arguing the whole time and got chased by a creepy guy, but this is what every journey is about...the destination!

"I thought it would be prettier," Ruby commented breaking me out of my thoughts. "This just looks like a mountain."

"It's to avoid suspicion," Sapphire retorted, and though they still argued _all_ the time, there was a lot less anger in their arguments, it was more like fond banter. But it was still really annoying.

"Let's go in," I suggested, walking up to the door which was trying to be inconspicuous and totally failing because really, who would put a door on a mountain? But that wasn't important. I tried the handle and it opened easily. Which surprised me somewhat, I was expecting it to be locked, it doesn't seem like they'd want random wanderers (like us) coming in, but maybe they saw us coming or something. The sight we were greeted with through the door was a giant staircase.

"I'm not climbing those," Ruby said immediately.

"I don't want to either," I agreed.

"Come on," Sapphire wheedled. "Stairs are good for ya'!"

"Not that many stairs," Ruby retorted.

To the left of the door I spotted an innocuous elevator and exclaimed, "Here's the elevator!" I poked the up arrow and it lit up and the door opened with a quiet _ding._

Sapphire continued to grumble about how climbing stairs was good for the body, but she didn't hesitate to get into the elevator, leading me to believe she was as disheartened by the stairs as Ruby and I were.

The elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened (like really slowly, why? It's not like someone's going to get their arm stuck going _out_) and we exited.

And in the room, we found two people I was most definitely not expecting.

Red and Green were standing in front of a man, who I recognized as Lance, and he told us that all the councils, were actually based in the same place. Making my trip alone with Ruby and Sapphire completely pointless.

"Well if all the councils are actually here, then the others should get here eventually," I pointed out.

"So what, we wait here for them?" Sapphire asked.

Red shrugged and said, "Unless you have a better idea?" Sapphire shook her head in the negative.

We explained to Lance that we were hoping some of their friends would be showing up soon, and he led us to a dormitory area. "Why is this here?" I wondered.

"This was originally a school," Lance explained. "It was closed during the war and we repurposed it."

"They what?" Sapphire asked blankly.

"Used it for something else," Ruby explained with an eye roll.

"Make yourselves at home," Lance said. "But it would be best if you stayed in this hallway." Then he walked off leaving all of us standing in the hallway by ourselves.

"This sign says women," Sapphire commented, grabbing my arm and dragging me into the room. The door swung shut behind us.

* * *

><p><strong>Girls' room:<strong>

The girls' room was just a rectangular room with ten bunk beds. The beds weren't made and I didn't see any kind of bedding. Not that I particularly wanted to sleep on one of those beds anyway, who knows how old they were. "This is scary," I muttered.

"…No it isn't. It's cozy," Sapphire replied, and I hoped it was one of those times where she was just pretending to be brave, because no one could possibly find anything cozy about the room.

"I'm so glad we go to MAGE and not a place like this." I walked over to one of the beds thinking about sitting down, but after taking a closer look and seeing the questionable stains, I quickly changed my mind, taking a seat on the floor by the door instead. Sapphire slid down the wall, settling on the floor next to me.

"So. Do ya like Red?" Sapphire asked suddenly.

"What? Uh…I huh?" I replied inelegantly.

"Isn't this the kind of stuff girls are supposed ta talk about?" Sapphire asked in explanation.

"If you're Blue."

"Well what do you wanna talk about?"

We stared at each other for a while. I briefly considered asking her how things were with Ruby, but immediately decided that would be too awkward so I decided on a carefully neutral topic.

"When do you think the others will get here?" I wondered aloud.

Sapphire shrugged. "Soon hopefully. I hate waiting."

"I do too."

"Let's stop waiting then," Sapphire said, jumping to her feet. "Let's explore!"

"But Lance said we should –"

"Rules are for boring people," Sapphire countered leaving the room. I quickly hurried after her, figuring it would be better if I went with her to keep her from destroying anything important.

* * *

><p><strong>Boys' room:<strong>

Green POV

Great. I'm in a room that has the dubious honor of being the most disgusting bedroom I've ever been in. It's so terrible, I actually agreed with Ruby, who ranted about the room for a while, but then I was back to ignoring him when he began telling Red and me his 'Lovely Romantic Tale' (his words, not mine. I would never use any of those words voluntarily). Red was surprised of course, that boy is more oblivious than a bag of non-magical nails. Even I noticed that those two were going to become a couple, not that I'm not observant (I am) but I make a point of ignoring other people's dramas so that they don't ask me for advice.

"That's a great story!" Red said once Ruby had finished his (entirely too long) story.

"I know," Ruby replied demurely. (That was sarcasm. He sounded pleased with himself. He really shouldn't have, it was a terrible story).

"Have you heard from anyone else?" I asked. My thoughts flicked to Blue and the last call I had gotten from her. Hopefully she was okay.

"No, how would I have talked to them?" Ruby replied blankly.

I mutely pointed at the phone that was clearly visible, half falling out of his pocket. Ruby glanced down and muttered a quiet, "Oh. Right. My phone."

Red flopped down on one of the beds, creating a huge cloud of dust which I edged away from nervously. Ruby reacted a bit more…_dramatically. _He screamed. Ruby jumped backwards in his efforts to avoid the dust and ended up tripping over one of the other beds and landing on it. This, of course, created another dust cloud and covered him in a grey film.

"Ahhh!" Ruby screamed and if I didn't know any better, I'd have thought he was being attacked. He jumped back up, brushing ineffectively at his clothes. "I need a change of clothes," he announced. With that he dashed out the door.

"Should we follow him?" Red asked, brushing his hands through his hair, getting rid of the dust in it.

I gave a heavy sigh, but nodded. "We probably should. If we don't he'll probably wind up blowing the mountain up." Red and I stepped out into the hallway, but Ruby was nowhere in sight.

"So, left or right?" Red asked.

"Let's split up," I suggested.

"I'll go left!" Red skipped happily along his chosen direction. Idiot. I began walking towards the right, listening for the sounds of a Ruby in distress.

* * *

><p>Ruby POV<p>

I needed to find a bathroom and a washing machine. Also a clothes store would be nice. But the chances of finding one of those here is pretty slim. I walked down the hallways searching for a washroom, but they all looked the same and none of the doors were marked and I soon realized I was completely lost.

"What are you doing here?" a female voice demanded. I spun around to face the accuser to find Cynthia, the champion of Sinnoh.

"Cynthia!" I exclaimed. "I love your outfit!"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She asked again, taking a few steps back after I walked closer to her.

"I'm Ruby!" I announced. "Lance said that my friends and I could wait here while we wait for our other friends to get here. Then we're going to defeat Team Galactic once and for all!"

Cynthia gave me a bemused look at that. "Really. You and your friends are going to take down a powerful rebel group?"

"Yeah. But right now I'm looking for a laundry room. Do you know where I can find one?"

Cynthia stared at me for a few moments longer, probably to assess if I was telling the truth or not, and eventually nodded. "Come on." I followed her down the hallway, admiring her outfit. Also her haircut. And her grace. She should be a model. Like Elesa.

She led me down various hallways and opened a door I realized was just two doors down from the room Green, Red and I had been occupying before. Feeling slightly foolish, I thanked Cynthia (after asking her what hair products she uses. She didn't tell me) and took stock of the room. It was just as dingy as the other room I was in, but this one was full of washers and dryers instead of beds. I quickly changed into one of my many spare outfits (I'm always prepared for a wardrobe change). The washers looked ancient, but I found the least gross looking one and put my clothes in anyway. I doubted it could make my clothes worse, and even if it did I had a bunch of extras anyway.

* * *

><p>Yellow POV<p>

Sapphire walked confidently along the hallways and I followed much more uncertainly. "We shouldn't be down here," I said nervously.

"Loosen up Yellow. No one's going to catch us," Sapphire reassured. Naturally the second the words had left her mouth someone caught us. I recognized him instantly as Steven Stone, Champion of Hoenn. I'm not proud, but I ditched Sapphire. But I didn't feel as bad as I normally would have, because it was her idea in the first place, and I had put up with way more than I should have travelling with Ruby and Sapphire.

I ran down the hallway and slammed into another person. Before I could spring away from this new person, they grabbed my wrist and said, "Yellow?"

"Red?" I said breathlessly.

"You left the rooms too? Ruby ran off and Green and I left to look for him," Red explained gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding my wrist. I stared at the point of contact, most of his explanation washing over me in lieu of that fact and the intense concentration it took not to blush.

"Awww, how cute!" a female voice cooed. Red and I both turned to find a woman in a flower patterned skirt and swim top. It was a very odd outfit choice…For some reason I thought Ruby would approve. He always likes odd fashions.

"What's cute?" Red asked.

"You two!" the girl giggled. "My name's Phoebe by the way."

"I'm Red, this is Yellow," Red introduced politely.

"You're an adorable couple," Phoebe said.

Red let go of my wrist and I missed the contact – no, that's not right, er, I was happy to move my hand again. That sounds right – and quickly countered her statement. "We're not a couple."

Phoebe gave us a skeptical look. "You're not."

Red and I both bobbed our heads in agreement.

Phoebe turned her gaze on Red. "So there's a girl you like more than her? What's her name?" She pointed at me as she asked her second question.

Red blinked confusedly at her. "Yellow…?"

"So the girl you like the most _is _Yellow!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"You just asked him what _my _name was," I pointed out.

"Because you're the girl he likes the most," Phoebe replied.

"But you pointed at me."

"No I didn't. Now you. The boy you have a crush on. What's his name?"

As before, she clearly pointed at Red when she asked her question, so without thinking I replied, "Red." Then I realized I had just fallen into exactly the same trap Red did (though he actually _was _the person I had a crush on, so I'm not sure whose name I would have said if I had recognized the trick…Gold? No…just no.)

"Well if you two like each other then you should be together," Phoebe said matter-of-factly.

She said it so confidently, I actually became confused.

"I – What's going on?" I wondered.

"I'm not sure," Red replied.

"NOW KISS," Phoebe yelled and started towards us, but was stopped by a gust of wind which sent her sprawling.

"Sorry about her," a gruff voice said and my eyes followed the sound to an elderly man, who I assumed to be an air mage. "Phoebe doesn't know how to control herself. I'm Drake."

"Nice to meet you," I said. My manners trumping my overall confusion. "I'm Yellow."

"Red," Red said as he held his hand out to the man.

"Uh…Would you mind giving me directions back to the dorm?" I asked. "I got a bit lost…"

"Me too," Red added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"Of course," Drake replied. "Go backwards, take a left, then another left then right and a left then skip one hallway –"

He continued in this way until all his directions had become a blur in my mind and I stared at him blankly. After a few more minutes of directions he began laughing helplessly. "Sorry," he gasped between laughs. "You're faces – ha! Really, you just need to go down that hallway and take a left then the first right." He gestured at the hallway behind me.

"Thank you," I said, though I wasn't feeling particularly thankful. I glanced down at Phoebe and saw her starting to stir so I quickly turned and hurried down the hallway before she could embarrass me again.

* * *

><p><strong>Two Hallways Over<strong>

Sapphire POV

"Steven Stone!" I exclaimed excitedly. I don't pay a lot of attention to the news, but I knew about Steven Stone, the Champion of Hoenn and, more importantly, amazingly powerful Ground mage. I've seen him fight before and he was incredible. "You're amazing!" I blurted.

"Nice to meet you…?" he said uncertainly.

"I'm Sapphire! This is Yellow," I gestured behind me, only to find Yellow had disappeared. "Where'd she go?" I wondered aloud.

"She ran off," Steven replied. I shrugged; I guess I get Steven all to myself then. I'm going to get all kinds of fighting tips!

"Teach me!" I demanded.

"Uh…what?"

"I've seen you fight on TV," I explained. "You're one of the few people I will admit is better than I am."

Steven looked a bit embarrassed. "I don't really fight much anymore. And I've never taught anyone before," Steven admitted.

"I can be your first student," I replied hopefully.

"Sorry Sapphire," Steven said apologetically. "You're spirit is admirable, but I'm too busy to teach you."

"…Fine," I grumbled. "Can't you at least give me some tips?"

"Steven, who're you talking to?" a loud booming voice asked. I turned to see a large man walking down the hallway. Really large, like, his muscles had muscles.

"Who're you?" I wondered.

"That's Bruno," Steven replied. "He's with the Kanto council. Bruno this is Sapphire. She's – actually I don't know why she's here."

"My friends and are going to take down Team Galactic!" I exclaimed.

"Uh…you are?"

I was going to explain more, but someone grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the two council members. "Agh!" I complained, trying to break free. In my struggle I realized my captor was Green. This just made me even more determined to get away. I finally kicked him in shin which made him grunt in pain and let go. "Jerk," I grumbled.

"We were supposed to stay in the dorms," Green replied. "We don't want to bother the council members." He made as if to grab my arm again so I quickly led the way back, absently rubbing my arm where is ached from Green's grip. We got back to the dorm hallway and I heard a strange rumbling sound coming from behind one of the unmarked doors. Curious, I decided to investigate and pushed the door open. The sound ended up being extremely boring, as it was the sound of a washing machine.

"Are you really doing laundry?" I demanded of Ruby, who was sitting on the floor in front of the active washer. "What is wrong with you?"

"My clothes got covered in dust!" Ruby replied defensively. "I had to wash them!"

"Do you have duplicates of your outfit?" Green asked.

"Of course," Ruby replied.

"He's weird like that," I whispered loudly to Green. I wandered over to where Ruby was sitting and flopped down next to him. This started up a lecture about the proper way to sit and I had to counter. Honestly, I actually enjoy my arguments with Ruby, after all, he wouldn't be Ruby if he wasn't talking about the girly stuff all the time. At some point in our argument, Green left, though this went unnoticed by Ruby and I, both to wrapped up in each other to pay him any mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Outside the Council Mountain<strong>

Blue POV

"This is the council?" Crys said skeptically.

"It looks like a mountain," Gold observed.

"That's because it _is _a mountain," Crys snapped.

"A hollow one," I said as I searched the exterior for a door.

"Look at this," Gold said pointing at a wooden sign.

"The door is this way," Crys read aloud.

"Well that was a freebie," I replied walking in the direction the sign pointed. After walking for a few minutes I found the door, which was the same color as the mountain, but still fairly easy to find.

I was trying to open the door when Crys said, "Is that…?"

"Blue!" I heard a familiar voice exclaim.

"Silver?" I replied. "What are you doing here? This is the Sinnoh council…isn't it?"

"I thought it was the Unova council," Black replied.

There was a moment of silence as we all tried to figure out what was going on.

"We may as well go in," Crys suggested. "We can figure all this out inside." This seemed as good a plan as any, so I turned back to the door and pulled it open. The first thing I saw was a seemingly endless staircase.

"I am _not _going up that," Lyra stated.

"Agreed," I added.

"We don't have to," Crys said. She pointed to the inconspicuous elevator that was situated to the left of the staircase.

"Great!" I chirped, skipping to the elevators and pressing the 'up' button.

The others came over and we loitered by the elevator as we waited for it to come down. And it took a _really _long time to get to our floor, leading me to believe one of two things must be true. Either the top was a long way up (in which case I was doubly grateful I didn't have to climb all those stairs) or the elevator was just ridiculously slow. Or both.

The elevator finally arrived at our floor with a cheery ding and the doors slid open. The elevator was quite small, but we managed to all squeeze in, though it wasn't comfortable by any means.

Crys (who was being compressed into the control panel) managed to press the button for the top floor (the only button there was other than G, which was the floor we were on now) and the doors closed again. Then the music started. It was one of those songs that repeats the same simple phrase over and over until it's so irritating you just _need _to smash something. Gold was the first to break.

"I can't take it anymore!" he cried. There was a flash of red light and Gold's Aipom was sitting on my head.

"Gold, what are you doing?" I demanded.

"Ataro, destroy the music!" Gold ordered.

"Aipom!" Ataro said cheerily. Then he started using Swift at the ceiling. Which it turns out was a terrible idea (surprise, surprise).

Luckily Crys hit Ataro, which knocked it out instantly (note to self: Crys has super strength and should only be insulted when out of range).

Gold raised his hands in surrender at the five accusing gazes pointed his way. "I thought it would help," he said sheepishly. There was another flash of red and Ataro's unconscious form disappeared into the Poké Ball.

After what felt like a few hours (but was probably less than a minute) the door opened again and the music _finally _stopped. We poured out of the elevator giving a collective gasp of relief.

My training kicked in and I took stock of the room. I quickly determined there was nothing worth stealing and that there was someone in the room with us. Lance, champion of Kanto. "I'm assuming you are all Red's friends?" he asked.

"You know Red?" Lyra blurted.

"He got here this morning. Come on." Lance spun around and walked down a hallway, evidently expecting us to follow him. I shrugged and did just that. The others did as well. "The others are in the rooms," Lance said and walked off.

I immediately walked over to one of the doors and opened it to find a laundry room, along with Ruby and Sapphire, who seemed to be having some kind of a moment. So I interrupted it. "Hey guys!" I said obnoxiously, grinning as the two jolted and turned to face me.

"Blue!" Sapphire said, somehow making my name sound like an accusation. The other moved me so they could see in then walked past me into the room.

"It's so great to see you two!" Lyra exclaimed as she basically tackled the two into a hug. Ruby tried to keep his clothes from being rumpled while Sapphire muttered about Lyra being 'stupidly emotional.'

"Blue!" a voice squeaked from the door.

"And everyone else," a second voice added.

"Yellow! Red!" Lyra yelled, releasing Sapphire and Ruby and tackling Red and Yellow into a hug.

"Is Green here too then?" I asked.

"Yep," Sapphire replied. "He went back into the boys' room." I hopped over Lyra, who was pinning Red and Yellow to the floor, and went to the door with a stick figure man and pushed it open.

I quietly opened the door and spied Green reading a book, facing away from the door. So I decided to have a little fun with him. Silently, I snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He whirled around and almost hit me with a fireball, but luckily I have awesome reflexes and ducked under it.

"Miss me?" I asked.

"Blue. You took your time getting here," Green replied, acting like I hadn't just scared him into almost incinerating me.

"Yeah…By the way, why did we all end up here?"

"No one's told you yet?" Green replied, looking faintly surprised. "This mountain is where _all _the councils are located."

It took a few minutes for the enormity of that statement to sink in. Then I started screaming. "YOU MEAN WE COULD HAVE BEEN TRAVELING TOGETHER THIS WHOLE TIME?!"

Green backed up a half-step (which for him was practically running away). "Yes," he answered dryly.

I kept ranting, ignoring his interruption until Green grabbed my face and kissed me. I stared at him in blunt shock and he left the room throwing a teasing (…surely not, Green doesn't tease…does he?) "You talk too much," towards me.

* * *

><p>Green POV<p>

That wasn't what I was planning to do. I don't have feelings for the pesky girl, other than annoyance that is. I was just surprised to see her, yeah, it was all surprise. It wasn't because it was her; if I was surprised to see Red I would kiss him! No…actually no I wouldn't. Terrible mental image. Fine. Maybe I sort of have more than friendly feelings for her, it doesn't matter. Next time I see her, I'm going to make sure she knows that was a just the easiest way to stop her rant.

I wandered aimlessly as I went through my feelings and found myself at Lance's office. I intended to turn back, but Lance had already seen me and waved me inside.

"Have all your friends arrived now?" Lance asked.

I actually had no idea, but I figured even if Lyra, Silver and Black hadn't gotten here yet it was close enough to everyone, so I told him yes.

"You can meet with me and the other champions tomorrow," Lance informed. "Have a nice night." That was clearly a dismissal, so I left. It was nice that they were meeting with us at all, but I wasn't looking forward to sleeping in the dorms. At all. Maybe I'll just stay up all night.

I found my way back to the others, who were in a laundry room for some reason, steeled myself to act normal around Blue, and went inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Laundry Room<strong>

Blue POV

So…Green kissed me. Ostensibly to shut me up, but there are easier ways to do that. Not that I expect him to admit to feeling anything, but now I know that he _has _to feel something for me. There isn't another explanation. But we do actually have bigger problems. I wandered into the laundry room where the others were still catching up. They didn't seem to notice I'd been gone. Ruby's laundry had finished washing and he was busy transferring things to the dryer when Green wandered in.

"We're all together again!" Lyra said excitedly.

"Everyone but White, Dia, Pearl and Platina," Crys corrected.

"Lance told me that the council will meet with us tomorrow," Green informed.

"That's – " A bright flash of light. "– Great!" I blinked rapidly, trying to overcome the temporary blindness caused by the light. When I could see again I was seriously confused.

"Where are we?" Yellow asked sounding frightened, which I didn't blame her for. We weren't in the laundry room anymore. We were in a significantly smaller room which didn't even seem to be made of the same material. The council rooms had been carved out of the mountain, this room was made of metal.

"Was that a teleportation spell?" Black mused.

"Seems like it," Crys replied. Silver and I went towards the single door in the room and I pulled out my lock picks and put it into the lock. The instant the pick entered the lock a purplish energy appeared around the door and sent the lock pick flying across the room where it hit Gold in the stomach.

"Owww," he complained.

"The door must be shielded," Crys theorized. She shooed Silver and I out of the way, then kicked the door. The energy appeared again and tossed Crys backwards where she was caught by Gold (who seemed to be precisely in the door's firing range).

"What do we do now?" Lyra wondered.

"Incinerate it!" Gold suggested, creating a fireball in his hands and preparing to lob it at the door.

Crys screamed at him to stop, but she was too late, he'd already hurled it. I realized immediately that the barrier was a reflective barrier – a barrier that reflects anything that touches it – meaning Gold's attack would be thrown back at us, and in the small room that would be bad. So I grabbed the soggy shirt Ruby had been holding and threw it at the fireball as the barrier sent the fireball back at us. I manipulated the water from the shirt and used it to douse the flame before it could hit anyone.

"Good work Blue," Black said. "Terrible idea Gold."

"Everyone, just stay away from the door," Sapphire said.

"And don't throw anything at it!" Crys added, punching Gold for emphasis.

"Sorry," Gold said. "But if we can't break the door down how do we get out?"

"Someone has to open the door eventually," Lyra replied. "Let's just wait for that to happen then take whoever it is down and get out of here."

No one was able to come up with a better plan, other than some strategizing about where to stand to have the greatest chance of success, so we went with Lyra's plan. And we waited.

* * *

><p><strong>The Council<strong>

Wally POV

"You're friends should be around here somewhere," Lance told Emerald and I. Apparently all the councils were actually one council, and all our friends were already here. But when Emerald and I checked the rooms we couldn't find any of them. The only trace we found was Ruby's half-done laundry.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: <strong>

**Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it :)  
><strong>


	26. The End

**Author Note:**

**Hey guys. I'm so sorry about how long this took, but here it is. The ending of MAGE. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorite this story, I love all of you. I hope that you like the ending and that it doesn't disappoint anyone. Thank you all for reading! :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 23: The End<p>

* * *

><p>Pearl POV<p>

While I was glad we found Platina – ecstatic actually – our rescue attempt had gone about as badly as it could have. Instead of freeing Platina, we ended up captured ourselves. "What do we do now?" I complained, pacing the room already feeling claustrophobic. I _hate _small spaces.

"The door's locked," Dia said, stating the obvious.

I was about to give him a scathing retort when the door opened letting in a group of guards. One of them was holding a device that I recognized as being the same thing Midelle had that detected mages. The guard pointed at me, Dia and Platina while saying, "Him, him and her." The other guards separated us from our friends and led us out.

"Where are you taking them?" White cried. The only response she received was a rough shove that sent her sprawling into Bianca. The door slammed shut behind us blocking out White's cries.

"Where are we going?" I asked. I didn't get an answer, but at least I didn't get shoved. The guards led us down several different hallways and stopped outside of a door. The guards didn't enter, they just pushed us in and closed the door behind us. The room was large, about the size of our gym (which brings back the good memories of when all I was afraid of was magic bolts thrown by my teachers) but shaped like an oval instead of a rectangle. In the center of the room, there was a glowing circle. There were twelve sigils drawn around the edge of the circle which seemed familiar to me, but my attention was diverted before I could examine them further. There was a man standing in the center of the circle and he exuded a dark aura.

"Greetings children," the man said and I bit back my retort about us not being kids. He didn't look like he'd appreciate back-talk, and while I normally don't care, this man seemed evil to the core. And he actually frightened me. "My name is Cyrus," the man continued. "Leader of Team Galactic. And soon ruler of the world."

"Ruler of the world?" I said skeptically, my earlier vow of silence forgotten. "How are you going to take over the world?"

"I'm so glad you asked, because you and your friends are going to be instrumental in my rise to power. You see this rune?" He gestured at the circle. "This is an ancient sigil of power. If I sacrifice one of each type of mage in this circle, I will gain the power of each mage sacrificed. Then I will be able to bend anything and anyone to my will and use them to achieve world domination. He then cackled for what felt like an hour but was probably less than a minute.

"You – You're going to _sacrifice _us?" I said panicking.

"It is a noble sacrifice. I'll bring the world together, bring peace!"

"By taking people's free will," Dia said.

"That is not real freedom," Platina added.

"I don't need your approval, just your lives. Come into the circle," Cyrus said.

"Um. No," I refused.

Then I felt something in my mind, like fingers grabbing onto my mind and _twisting. _I found myself walking forwards despite my efforts to do the opposite. A quick sideways glance showed Dia and Platina having similar problems, though Platina was fighting him more successfully, undoubtedly due to her being a psychic mage herself.

Despite my best efforts, I soon found myself standing on one of the sigils, the symbol for air, I realized. A circle of light lit up around my feet, then shot into the ceiling, surrounding me in a cylinder of light. My mind was suddenly freed and I instantly tried to get through the cylinder. But it was no use, the light was completely unaffected by my fists. My attempts to use air to unbalance Cyrus or blow Dia and Platina away from their sigils were also unsuccessful as it was trapped with me in the cylinder and Dia and Platina were soon both surrounded by their own cages. Platina stood atop the symbol for psychic and Dia upon the symbol of ground. I looked at Dia and Platina and saw them mirroring the horror I felt. Then I felt a small spark of determination. I'm not dying. Not for this man. And he couldn't sacrifice us until he had the other mages he needed, so that would give me some time to find a way out.

* * *

><p>White POV<p>

So…this _looks _bad. But maybe there's a bright side somewhere. Sure I'm stuck here, but I'm with Bianca! Pearl, Platina and Dia were taken, but at least they're together! Probably…actually I have no idea what happened to them. Midelle got dragged away after them, but I don't know her well anyway so it could be worse. Right? No, this isn't working. I sunk down and put my head between my knees. This _is _bad. And there's nothing I can do. I don't have any powers. I'm not even particularly smart. All I can do is run a talent agency, which is completely useless. Bubu deserves better than me. Wait – Bubu! My head shot up, surprising Bianca who had been looking at me with concern.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Bubu!" I shouted.

"What?" she replied confused.

I sent out Bubu and answered, "Bianca, meet Bubu."

Bianca gasped and said, "A Tepig? A _real _one? How is that possible?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," I replied. "Pokémon just started appearing all of a sudden. But I think Bubu can help us escape. The doors are protected against magic –"

"But not against Pokémon attacks," Bianca finished for me. I nodded.

"Bubu! Get us out of here." Bubu nodded and launched herself at the door wreathed in flames.

The door made a wince-inducing creaking sound before being thrown off its hinges and crashing into the wall opposite it.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Let's get out of here!" And so Bianca, Bubu and I set out to rescue our fellow prisoners.

* * *

><p><strong>Like, 2 feet to the left and about 5 minutes earlier<strong>

Yellow POV

No one had come up with a plan to get us out yet, so we had resorted to sitting in silence. At one point Blue tried to get us to play truth or dare, but backed down after Sapph said she would dare Blue to get punched by Crys. I wouldn't have wanted to answer any of Blue's questions (and no way would I pick dare), but honestly it would have been a bit nicer than sitting here in worried silence.

The door suddenly swung open, nearly braining Gold who was sitting the closest to it. A whole platoon of guards came in brandishing weapons. I shrunk back, trying to blend in with the wall (a foolish endeavor since the wall was completely white and I'm…not).

"You're all coming with us. Except for you two," the front guard said. The two he was referring to seemed to be Sapph and Green. The rest of us were roughly dragged through the door.

"Where are you taking them?" Green demanded, trying to push past the guards to follow us.

"Ruby!" Sapph yelled as we were dragged away, but the two were restrained and trapped in the room behind us. The guards quickly dragged us away from the room and I thought I heard a crash, but we were too far away for me to be sure.

The guards threw us into a large room which was already occupied by a super creepy looking guy, Platina, Dia and Pearl. The latter three appeared to be held in prisons made of light. I had never seen anything like it.

"What's going on?" Red asked.

"This psycho wants to take over the world!" Pearl exclaimed, his hands bashing against the light surrounding him. My gaze drifted to the floor and I took in the symbols, then it drifted to my friends and pieces started putting themselves together in my mind. The symbols corresponded to the magic symbols and there were twelve of us in here. Each of us a different type of mage. Twelve of us, twelve symbols.

"Kindly take your places on the symbols," the creepy guy said. "Otherwise I'll have to force you."

"I'd like to see you try!" Gold taunted.

"Yeah!" Crys yelled, in rare agreement with Gold.

"Very well," the man said. The two then started jerking unnaturally forward.

"What's happening?" Crys asked, sounding strained.

"He is a psychic mage," Platina answered. "He can impose his will upon your mind, forcing you to do his bidding."

I exchanged looks with the others. "The more people he has to control, the more difficult it is for him right?" Lyra started.

"So if we all resist," Blue continued.

"Maybe we can beat him," Red finished. We all exchanged quick nods, then began running in different directions. I felt the man's touch in my mind, it felt slimy and unnatural and suddenly my body was not under my control anymore. I fought, but it didn't matter, I simply couldn't move the way I wanted to.

"It was a valiant attempt," the man said. "But I'm more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Despite our best efforts, we all ended up trapped in the light above our appropriate symbols.

"My plans have finally come to fruition."

"What plans?" Blue asked. "You're a super villain! You are villain-bound to tell all of us your evil plan!"

"He already told us," Dia said.

"What are the chances it's something good?" Lyra wondered.

"I'd say zero," Silver snapped.

"Yeah. It's bad," Pearl agreed. "He's going to –"

"Quiet!" the creep roared. "It's _my _plan and _I _get to explain it!"

"Who _are _you anyway?" Red asked.

"Yeah! He hasn't even told us his name! How rude," Blue agreed.

"He obviously has not been taught manners," Platina added.

"Cyrus!" the man roared. "My name is Cyrus, now shut up and let me talk!"

"Rude," Blue muttered.

"My plan," Cyrus started but before he could go on the door crashed down.

* * *

><p><strong>A few minutes earlier back in the cell<strong>

Green POV

I banged my fists against the door. "Let me out!" I yelled.

Sapph joined in the yelling and I'm sure would have helped pound on the door, but there wasn't enough room for both of us. The door suddenly got quite hot and I realized something was wrong. "Look out!" I yelled as I tacked Sapph to the ground away from the door. Just in time too, the door came flying backwards through the space Sapph and I had just been.

"Oops, sorry about that," a familiar voice apologized.

"White?" Sapph said.

"Hi gu – What are you two doing?" White demanded. I realized I was still on top of Sapph and that this was incredibly awkward.

Sapph squeaked a bit and pushed me off. "It's not what it looks like!" she defended.

"You and Green?" White said. "I always thought the arguments with Ruby were flirting! And Green! I always hoped you and Blue would end up together!"

"I _am _dating Ruby!" Sapph yelled back.

"I don't like Blue," I muttered, though it was starting to sound unconvincing even to me.

"If you're dating Ruby what was that?" White demanded.

"You blasted the door in," I replied. "If I hadn't pushed her down she's be squished under that," I gestured to the wreckage of the door which had created a sizable dent in the wall.

White laughed sheepishly and her Tepig imitated it (though it sounded like "Te te te te" which was decidedly odd sounding).

"Again, sorry about that. Oh! This is my friend Bianca," White said gesturing to a blonde girl who looked worse for wear. Grime covered her and her hair looked like it hadn't seen a hair brush for the better part of a year.

"Hiya! I'm Sapphire," Sapph said.

"Green," I said simply.

"Nice to meet you," Bianca replied.

"Where're Dia and Pearl?" I asked.

"They were taken," White replied. "I don't know where."

"They took everyone here too!" Sapph said.

"We need to find them!" White exclaimed. I sent out my Charmander who, along with White's Tepig, proceeded to bust down every door we came across until we found. The doors all led to empty rooms that were like the room we had been trapped in. I don't know why they had so many empty rooms, but I didn't question it. Running into guards would have been a problem. Eventually we came to a door that was much larger than the others.

"This looks promising," White said hopefully.

"Charmander," I said and Charmander blasted the door down not needing more direction. I led the way into the room where we found all our friends. The room was a huge oval, and while devoid of furniture much like the rest of the base, had a huge drawing on the floor and twelve lights shined up from the floor surrounding our friends.

"White!" Black shouted excitedly, waving at her so vigorously he bounced against the light he was standing in. I briefly wondered how it was possible for light to be a physical manifestation but put the thought to the side. There were more important things.

"Black! Is everyone okay?" White asked worriedly.

"We're fine," Blue replied leaning against her light column calmly.

"NO YOU'RE NOT!" a man I previously hadn't noticed roared. He didn't stand out nearly as much as the others since he was in the dark.

"Who's he?" I asked.

"He's Cyrus, leader of Team Galacic," Lyra explained.

"He wants to sacrifice us to become some super mage or something," Pearl added.

"Really?" Blue said. "That's his plan?"

"S-sacrifice?" Yellow stammered.

"Don't worry Yellow," Red said encouragingly. "We're getting out of this."

"NO YOU ARE NOT!" Cyrus yelled.

"Yeah, everything's going to be fine," Blue added, completely ignoring the irate madman.

"STOP IGNORING ME!" This shout finally drew attention, as at it was accompanied by the sudden intensity of brightness of all the light cages. This silenced the room. "Thank you. My plan, which has taken me _years _to put into effect, is finally about to come true. All I have to do is read this sacred ritual," Cyrus explained, holding a scroll with yellowed fragile looking pages.

"Bubu, get it," White muttered to her Tepig. The fire pig leapt towards the man and spat a fireball at him, which he skillfully dodged, however the flames caught the corner of his scroll and soon the whole thing had been reduced to ashes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Cyrus roared.

"You really should have read that while we were ignoring you," Blue pointed out helpfully.

"None of you are going to make it out of here," he said menacingly.

"I think we made him mad," Lyra stage whispered.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Silver muttered.

"Hey Greenie, can you get us out of these?" Gold asked.

"Maybe if you never call me that again," I snapped back.

"But Blue calls you that all the time," Gold whined.

"Have you forgotten my might?" Cyrus asked. "My mind is more powerful than any of your puny ones."

"Bubu, see if you can destroy those light prison things," White said to her Tepig. The fire Pokémon began breathing flames at the circle around Gold. The flames were dispersed around the edges and the prison was left unaffected. Charmander and Bianca tried hitting one together, but the prison was similarly not effected.

"Try destroying the sigils," I suggested to our imprisoned friends. Blue looked at the symbol she was standing on and hit it with a blast of water. The sigil dissolved and was washed away, the light with it.

"I'M FREE!" Blue squealed while Cyrus let out another roar of rage. The others quickly began freeing themselves, though some had more trouble than others and Pearl was reduced to attacking the sigil with his hands when his air magic was completely ineffective. Platina had a similar problem but managed to smudge the drawing with her shoe. Yellow had overcome her own problem by sending out Kabuto who proceeded to wash the mark away.

I felt something in my mind trying to exert control over me, Cyrus, I assumed. Judging by the looks on the others' faces they felt the same touch I did, and at Red's shouted, "Fight it!" I redoubled my efforts to resist. It was the strangest fight I'd ever been in as it was silent and without action. After several minutes to intense mental struggle, Cyrus collapsed to his knees, panting and I was suddenly alone in my mind again.

"Fine, I can't take all of you, but I can take one of you!" Cyrus roared, or well _tried _to roar, it came out as more of an exhausted gasp. No one moved and for a moment I thought he'd completely exhausted himself, but then White started walking towards him with jerky, unnatural looking steps.

"Help," She pleaded.

Platina closed her eyes and went into a trance like state, one of her arms raised towards White. However, whatever Platina was trying to do, was rendered unnecessary when Crys punched Cyrus and sent him sprawling to the ground, completely unconscious.

"I hate mind tricks," Crys said disgustedly.

Dia immediately pointed out that Platina had mental powers but Platina waved him off. And is it just me or do they look too friendly? Thinking about them of course reminded me of Blue and how much I don't want to talk about it. But as long as we're not alone it will be easy to avoid.

"So, what do we do now?" White wondered, absently shaking out her limbs as if ensuring that they were truly under her control again.

"Tie him up?" Yellow suggested.

"We need to make sure he doesn't try to control us again," Crys pointed out. "He's insanely powerful, the only reason we beat him was because he'd already exerted himself and there were a lot of us."

"Is there any sort of magic damper we could use on him?" Lyra wondered.

"There are several," Black (aka the walking encyclopedia) replied. "We don't have access to any of them here though."

"Well that's useful," Silver muttered.

"We burned up his scroll so we ruined his plan so doesn't even need us anymore, right?" Sapphire said.

"I feel like that was too easy," Red said in a surprising show of common sense.

"Yeah, I was feeling the same thing," Crys agreed. "I was hoping I was the only one."

A moment of silence passed, and then there was a blinding bright light and a roar in my head and everything went black.

* * *

><p>Still Green POV<p>

I woke and sat up immediately which did my throbbing head no favors. I quickly realized the reason for the pain, I, and all the others, had fallen where we stood and I must have hit my head on the ground none to gently. Silver was also awake, but the others still seemed out of it. I tried to ascertain how much time had passed, but there was no way to tell what time it was, but I got the feeling that I hadn't been out for long. Soon the others were all waking as well, some more gracefully than others (Ruby started screaming about the dust on his clothes and Sapphire had to knock him out again. He was calmer when he woke the second time).

"What happened?" Yellow asked and I realized the question was directed towards Kabuto who, like the other Pokémon had been unaffected by the bizarre sound. Kabuto said its name a few times and then Yellow translated for us. "He says that we all passed out but it's only been a few minutes. He's not sure why we fell over."

"That would be my doing," said a voice that came from above us. The voice was unlike anything I ever heard before. It was high and smooth, yet somehow also low and rough and completely impossible to describe. The voice was so strange it actually hurt to listen to. When I looked at the owner I found a strange monster which was white with a purple tail. I assumed it to be a Pokémon and was soon proved right when Gold and Red both jumped up and pointed at it yelling "Mewtwo!"

"Mew…two?" White repeated. "What is that?"

"No, it's Mewtwo," Red corrected.

"…Yeah. And what is that?"

"It's a legendary Pokemon."

"It has immense psychic power," Gold added.

"Like Platina?" Dia wondered.

"Probably more," I said, thinking about the psychic attack the creature had already subjected us to.

"I'm more powerful than anything you've ever encountered," Mewtwo stated. It wasn't until it said this that I realized part of what was so disturbing about the voice. The words weren't being spoken aloud, they were being placed directly into my mind. Which was not helping my headache in the slightest.

"What do you want with us?" I asked it.

"Nothing," it replied. "You have actually done me a great favor."

"We have?" Crys said, sounding as bewildered as I felt (though I would never show it – it would ruin my image).

"That man, Cyrus. He would have stolen your power and have become more powerful than even I am. You have stopped him, for that I thank you. What would you have in return?"

"What, like as a thank you present?" Sapph asked.

"Precisely."

"We don't need anything, he was a problem for us too," Crys said while Gold said, "Money! Lots and lots of money!" Crys hit him and told Mewtwo to ignore him.

"I cannot let your actions go unrewarded," the Pokemon said, apparently taking Crys's advice.

"Well, maybe you could get the council here so they can imprison Cyrus and his henchmen," Red suggested.

"And find us a faster way back to school," Blue added. "I'm not walking back. I've had enough walking to last a lifetime."

"I can accomplish those tasks for you," Mewtwo replied and it disappeared in a flash of light.

"Uh…What just happened?" Sapph asked.

"I think it used Teleport," Gold replied.

"Oh."

After a few more moments had passed and the only sounds were Cyrus's unconscious snores Blue wondered, "Is he coming back?"

As the last word left her mouth there was a larger flash and Mewtwo reappeared with every council member as well as Emerald and Wally.

"Emerald?" Ruby and Sapphire exclaimed.

"And me," Wally reminded.

"What're you doin' here?" Sapph asked.

"We followed you guys," Emerald explained. "I can't believe you left us without an explanation or anything!"

"We were supposed to tell you?" Ruby wondered.

"Yes!" Emerald yelled. Wally simply shrugged and said, "I'm just glad you're alright."

While this conversation was going on the council members were splitting up to search the base for other criminals and Lance was tying up Cyrus.

"Mewtwo told us what happened on the way. We're sorry you children got pulled into all this," Lance said apologetically. "Mewtwo offered to bring you all back to school which he'll do now. We'll see you there later to get your statements about all that occurred here."

"There was a girl here – " Crys started.

"Yes, Midelle, we'll find her."

"I guess it's time to go then," Red said. He looked at Mewtwo, who nodded and then there was the bright flash of light again. And we were back at school. Back at MAGE.

* * *

><p><strong>MAGE<strong>

Crys POV

"It feels like a lifetime since we were last here," Lyra said as she bounced around, looking at all the buildings.

"It has been a while," I agreed.

"So, what now?" Yellow wondered. "Do we just…go back to school?"

"CORRECT!" A loud drill-sergeant like voice yelled. I flinched and covered my ears and the others reacted similarly (except for Green who made a visible effort to not be bothered).

"Lt. Surge!" Yellow squeaked.

"We're glad you are all alright," said the much calmer voice of Nurse Joy.

"But you all have detention!" Surge yelled. "For the rest of your miserable teenage lives!"

"Actually only for a few months," Joy corrected. "And you will have to make up all the work you missed."

There was an audible groan from Gold and Sapph at this. "I don't want to work!" Sapph sobbed, getting on her knees in a begging pose before Nurse Joy and Lt. Surge.

"You're getting your clothes all dirty," Ruby scolded as he pulled his girlfriend into a standing position.

"We can talk more after you have had time to rest," Nurse Joy said, though Lt. Surge clearly disagreed. "Your dorm is how you left it."

We nodded and started to leave but Nurse Joy said, "White and Bianca, wait here." Black looked like he wanted to protest, but White motioned for him to go with the rest of us so he did (though reluctantly).

* * *

><p>White POV<p>

I nervously awaited their words. They knew now that I had lied – that I wasn't a mage. I didn't want them to send me back, I had friends here, and I had nothing in the non-magical world. Unfortunately they spoke with Bianca first and left me in suspense for even longer.

"Bianca, you are now enrolled here," Nurse Joy said. "This is Professor Lenora," Joy said gesturing to the purple haired professor who was walking towards us. "She will show you to your dorm. Bianca nodded and went to follow Lenora though she sent me an uncertain glance. I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but it probably came out as more of a grimace.

"You!" Surge yelled after Bianca was gone (though his voice was so loud she could probably hear it). "Liar!"

"Surge!" Joy scolded. "Though it is true, you did lie to us. That leaves us with a few options. You could leave now and return to normal schooling." I shook my head against my will. But the thought of that, without all my new friends, with not even Bianca there. It was unthinkable. "Another option is you can continue to go here and study the theory of magic. Instead of learning about how to use magic we will teach you about the history of magic and why people are able to use it."

"Yes!" I exclaimed before she had even finished speaking. "I want to stay here! Please."

"Very well. I will make the arrangements. Someone will send you an updated schedule soon," Joy said.

"Get back to your dorm midget!" Surge yelled in what I assumed was a dismissal. I took it and nearly sprinted back to my dorm afraid they would change their minds and send me away anyway. When I got back to the dorm the others were all waiting anxiously, even the ones who didn't actually live in our dorm. This meant that it was incredibly crowded.

Black bounded forward when I showed up and blurted, "Are they letting you stay?"

I nodded, too overcome to talk.

There was an instant jubilant cry in the room. After a bit more celebration we started breaking off into groups and Silver, Lyra, Dia, Pearl and Platina went back to their own dorm (though someone had suggest they sleep on the floor, but Platina refused to sleep "on a couch like a commoner."

"I'm so glad they're letting you stay," Black said.

"Me too," I replied. "I thought for sure they were going to send me away. But they said that I could stay and study magical theory." We grinned at each other like idiots for a while until I realized we had been staring at each other for too long and I coughed and said, "I think I'm going to bed." Then ran off. Smooth White. Really smooth.

* * *

><p>Blue POV<p>

So, we were back home and White was staying, which I was happy about of course. But there was something else I needed to do. And that was finding a way to get Mr. "Emotions-are-for-lesser-beings" Green to admit that he likes me. And he _will_.

The first part of my amazing plan (which I hadn't finished or formalized in any way) was to find Green and get him alone. Which turned out to be very difficult. Every time I headed towards him he slipped away, but no one's sneakier than a thief, and I'm the best thief the world has ever seen. And so I snuck into his room and waited. When he finally showed up I slammed the door and leaned on it. "No escape," I chortled.

Green whirled around, clearly started though he tried to hide it. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Get out of my room!"

I pretended to think about it, then grinned and said, "Nope!"

Green glared and muttered, "Pesky woman."

I graciously ignored that and said, "So Green. Now that we're back at school, and other than some detentions that I'm going to sneak out of, we're back to having peace and quiet. Don't you think we should talk about -"

"No!" he cut off.

"You don't know what I was going to say," I accused.

"I can guess."

"Just admit it!" You _like _me."

"No. I think you're annoying and nosy," he said, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that.

I grinned wolfishly at him. "You like me!" I said in a singsong voice. "Just admit it already!"

"I – " he started but then stopped and the fight seemed to drain out of him. Then he muttered something indistinguishable.

"What was that?"

"Fine. I like you." He said this while staring at his feet and looking like he wanted to kill something. It was the best confession I could ever imagine hearing (even if I did have to force it out of him).

"I knew it!" I then tackled him in a hug. "We can be together forever and get married and go on double dates with Red and Yellow and mmph?" I was cut off by something on my mouth. Specifically _Green's mouth _on my mouth. I grinned into the kiss and returned it. Now that I had gotten him to admit his feelings there was no way I was ever letting him go.

* * *

><p><strong>1 Month Later - MAGE<strong>

Yellow POV

It had been a bit difficult and a lot surreal going back to school after the adventure we had been through. But it was also really relaxing. No death threats, no weird robot things, and _way _less walking. Things were mostly unchanged from before, with the exception of the Pokémon. After we met Mewtwo, Pokémon started showing up everywhere. There were long debates and research about why the Pokémon suddenly appeared, but I never paid much attention. They were here and they were going to stay, that's all that mattered to me.

Blue and Green continued to snipe at each other, though they were a lot more good-hearted than before since they were dating now. Silver insisted that there was nothing between him and Lyra, but when some other guy got close to her he always looked like he wanted to murder them. Lyra didn't seem bothered so I didn't pry, Blue however, was not as polite. She constantly asked if they were dating or not but Lyra would always just smirk at her. It drove Blue crazy.

Another couple (or not couple really) that drove Blue up the wall were Black and White. They clearly liked each other (even I could see that, and I really don't notice that stuff much), but they hadn't gotten together yet. I think they were just waiting to get a bit older, which I thought made sense, but Blue thought it was agonizing and she spent a lot of her time trying to force them to get together. Luckily Green was around to stop her more ridiculous plans (one of which involved goading Lt. Surge into putting them into detention together – I'm unspeakably happy he stopped that one).

As for me, I had never been happier. Red had asked me on a date a week after we got back. I was so shocked I just stared at him and Blue ended up accepting for me (that was really embarrassing). But the date went really well (despite Blue's obvious spying and her "help") and I had never been happier.

* * *

><p><strong>Crystal's Room<strong>

Crys POV

"So Crys, will you go out with me?" Gold asked. Again. Ever since we got back to MAGE he'd been asking me every day. This joke was getting seriously old. (But me not liking it does not in any way imply that I have feelings for the idiot because I totally don't because he doesn't for me so it would be pointless anyway and – right. Rambling).

"No," I replied simply. Pretending to be focusing on my homework.

"Why not?" he asked, adopting an annoying whiny tone.

Finally fed up. Seriously, why couldn't he take a _hint_, I slammed my hands down on my desk and yelled, "Quit joking about it!"

"Who says I'm joking?"

"You do!"

"I never said I was joking."

"And I'm supposed to believe that _you _are actually interested in _me_," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes. Because I am." And for once Gold's tone didn't sound jokey and he actually sounded serious. A brief glimmer of hope filled me, _What if he was telling the truth? _But – no. There was no way. He was so…_Gold. _And I was just the 'Super Serious Gal.' (And besides I don't like him anyway so who cares if he's serious or not?).

I didn't bother to respond to his statement, just turned away from him and began working on my homework again. Gold apparently didn't like this response. His hand appeared in my field of vision and snatched the homework from my desk and tossed it to the side.

"Hey!" I snapped. I pulled my fist back to his him, but Gold grabbed my hand before I could swing.

"Just listen to me for a minute," Gold said, not letting go of my fist. "I was never joking, I really would like to be your boyfriend. Before you tell me no," he said forestalling my denial. "Let me take you on one date and you can answer me then."

No. "Fine." What? Why did that come out of my mouth?

"Come on!" Gold exclaimed, pulling me behind him by the fist he'd never released.

"We're going on a date right now?"

"No time like the present!"

Gold dragged me behind him through the dorm (much to the bemusement of Red and Yellow who were watching TV in the common room). We went outside and headed into the shopping area of MAGE. He came to a halt in front of one of the more upscale restaurants in MAGE and stared at the door.

"They don't open for another three hours," he said finally.

"That place is open," I replied pointing at a small café across the street.

"I was supposed to take you to a nice restaurant," Gold muttered. "This isn't going to plan…"

"You had a plan?" I asked skeptically.

"Huh? Did I say that out loud? Right, café. Let's go." Gold pulled me towards the café and then finally released my hand so that I could go inside.

The date only got more ridiculous from there and was basically, a disaster. But an enjoyable one. Besides, if I want to be with Gold, I have to be able to handle a little chaos.

The next time he asked me out, I said yes.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**There is an epilogue that takes place 5 years later that I will publish in a few days.  
><strong>


	27. Epilogue - Five Years Later

**Epilogue**

* * *

><p><strong>Five Years Later<strong>

It was a beautiful summer day, the sun shining beautifully without being oppressive and the only clouds in the sky looking like white cotton candy. There was a gathering in a garden that had clearly been decorated expertly and would have looked gorgeous even in the rain, but in the sun was radiant. There was an air of excitement filling the air and the reason wasn't that difficult to figure out – it was the day of Ruby and Sapphire's wedding.

Yellow and Red stood together, a bit apart from the general mob. Red had his arm around Yellow's shoulder, a small gold band glittering in the light and matching the one on Yellow's left hand. "I have to admit," Red said. "I wasn't really sure they would get this far."

"Really?" Yellow wondered surprised. "I thought they'd be the first to get married. They've been together the longest."

"But they could never agree on anything about the wedding. Sapph wanted to have it in the woods and get married in a dress made of leaves."

"And they compromised with the garden. Though that _did _take them about a year to agree on."

"My wedding was _way _easier to organize," Blue added startling Yellow who jumped backwards into Red making him stumbled back a few steps before steadying them both. "Green refused to have anything to do with the planning so I got to do whatever I wanted!"

"I remember," Yellow said, clearly reliving the past.

"That cake," Red muttered, his voice one of trauma. "And the _music_."

Blue simply cackled gleefully. Green arrived carrying a baby girl who was tugging insistently on his tie. Yellow walked over instantly and started playing with the baby. The baby was Blue and Green's daughter, Aqua (so named because Blue wanted her name to be a color between blue and green and Green vetoed her first choice, Turquoise, which Aqua will surely thank him for later).

"Hey Green," Red greeted the man. "Excited for the wedding?"

"Why would I be?" Green asked.

"It's _Ruby and Sapphire_!" Blue exclaimed, hitting Green. "I've been waiting for their wedding for _years_!"

"You're more than excited enough for the both of us," Green pointed out. Blue pouted at him and he pointedly ignored her. "Besides," Green finally said after he couldn't take Blue anymore. "I'm not a groomsman so I don't have to act excited."

"You're not?" Yellow said. "Why not?"

"Ruby was offended when Green refused to let him make Blue's dress," Red replied.

"Yellow! Blue! We need you!" yelled Crys from somewhere in the throng of people.

"Sounds like Sapph needs us. See you later Red. And you," Blue leveled a glare at her husband. "Don't let any weird wedding guests touch Aqua."

"I wasn't going to," Green retorted.

Blue kept staring at him as she walked backwards until she literally ran into Crys who didn't budge. She just pushed Blue off her. The three flitted through the crowd and reached a pavilion that was closed off from the rest of the garden.

Sapphire sat inside on a chair in a beautiful white dress. However, she looked quite uncomfortable and was staring unhappily at herself in a mirror.

"Are you sure I can't get married in sweatpants?" She asked desperately when she noticed the three.

"You could try but Ruby would probably postpone the wedding until you were wearing something appropriate," Blue pointed out.

"Besides, what you're wearing is less frilly than whatever Ruby would have made," Crys added. Ruby and Sapph had decided it was better for their relationship if he didn't make her dress. Instead Sapph had gone dress shopping with Crys and Yellow deciding that the two of them would be the least annoying company.

"Yeah," Yellow agreed. "I let him make my dress and it was so puffy I couldn't figure out where my head was supposed to go."

Blue started snickering and added, "Watching you try to put that on was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen."

"You're just lucky Green refused to let Ruby have anything to do with your wedding," Yellow muttered.

"Ruby's still upset about that," Sapph said. "He thinks not picking Green as a groomsman will punish him, but I figured Green would be happier that way anyway so I just let him do it."

Blue laughed again, "Yeah he is happier. Green actually tried to convince Red to pick someone else as his best man. The only reason he even ended up doing it is because I told him the maid of honor and the best man have to go on a date later."

"You made that up," Yellow accused.

"I did it for you," Blue replied innocently.

"Liar," Yellow muttered, though without any real reproach.

"Where're White and Lyra?" Crys asked glaring at the door as if to make them appear. Sapph had asked Platina if she wanted to be a bridesmaid but the other woman declined, saying she wasn't as close to Sapph as the others, but the truth was she just didn't want to wear the same dress as everyone else. Dia and Pearl both declined being groomsmen as well so they could hang out with Platina in the audience.

"Dunno," Sapph shrugged.

"They'll be here," Yellow said. "White probably got distracted with the video she was making for the wedding. Last time I saw her Black had to drag her away from the editing so that she'd sleep."

"Hey everyone!" the aforementioned White gasped as she burst through the door. "I'm so sorry, I got caught up, but the video – it's perfect now. Phew." She stood panting in the doorway for several minutes.

"Now we just need – "

"Hey everyone!"

"Lyra," Crys finished.

"You look so pretty!" Lyra cooed at Sapph. Sapph glared in response.

"She'd prefer to be tough," Yellow said.

"So Crys," Blue said in her way-too-innocent voice.

"Yes?" Crys replied suspiciously.

"Are you going to catch the bouquet? Don't you think it's about time you and Gold got married? Then you can have a baby and Aqua will have someone to play with!"

"Can't Aqua play with Yellow's baby?" Crys asked.

"What?"

"Oh, had you not told her yet?" Crys addressed this to Yellow.

"I was waiting for the wedding to be over," Yellow replied a bit sheepishly.

"YOU'RE HAVING A BABY?" Blue screamed and at Yellow's nod picked her up and squeezed her.

"Help! Blue. Can't…breathe," Yellow gasped. Blue set her down and the others all congratulated her as well (though with less exuberance than Blue).

"How could you have told Crys before me?" Blue asked over her jubilation and now accusatory.

"We went to lunch last week so I told her," Yellow said. "I wanted to give the news in person."

Blue looked slightly mollified but she still gave the smaller woman a long glare. "And you!" Blue said suddenly changing targets and glaring at Crys. "I love weddings so tell that man of yours to propose."

"I'm not doing that," Crys replied. "And if you keep bugging me about it maybe we'll just elope one day like Lyra and Silver."

"No! You are not doing that!" Blue yelled. "I was so angry at Silver for that!"

"That's true," Lyra said. "She yelled at him for three hours straight." Lyra giggled. "Poor Silver."

"What about Platina and Dia?" White wondered. "They've been dating for a while."

"I don't think they'll get married until Pearl has a girlfriend," Crys said. "They feel bad that he doesn't have anyone."

"Then we must find him a girlfriend!" Blue declared.

When it looked like she was going to march out into the audience and find him a girlfriend right away, Sapph stopped her. "This is my wedding Blue. Find 'im a girl later."

"Right! Sorry Sapph. Are you ready for your wedding?"

"Ruby's more worried about it than I am," Sapph replied with a shrug. "Though I'd be happier in sweatpants." With this last comment Sapph resumed her prodding of the dress, apparently trying to make it more comfortable.

White slapped her hands away. "You're ruining it," She scolded as she fixed the way the dress hung on Sapph. "Much better."

"Soooo," Blue said as she sidled over to White's side, who sensed a predator and prepared to bolt. "Are _you_ getting married soon?"

"What are you going to do when all your friends are married?" Crys asked, saving White from having to respond. White sent her a grateful look and started fixing Sapph's hair. It was in a complicated bun, but she had somehow managed to get some loose.

"That's obvious," Blue replied confidently. "By the time all of you get it together enough to get married we'll have grown children and I can start shipping them."

"Shipping?" Yellow repeated.

"When you think two people should be together you ship them," Lyra explained.

"Exactly!" Blue praised, slinging an arm around Lyra's shoulders. "We should hang out more. Yellow always gets worried about peoples' _feelings_. It gets boring."

"Yes…Yellow's empathetic nature is a terrible thing," Crys said sarcastically.

"They just don't understand the wonder of shipping," Lyra said, ignoring Crys.

"I know I don't," Sapph muttered as she tried to fight off White while White tried to fix her hair.

Music filtered in from the garden signifying that the wedding would be starting soon. Crys pushed White away from Sapph and said, "It's time for the wedding now. Are you ready Sapph?"

"Yeah," Sapph replied easily. "I don't see what the big deal is. Ruby and I have already been together for five years."

Blue looked like she was about to start some sort of shipping rant, but Crys cut her off. "It's time, let's go!" She tugged Sapph up and urged her out the door and everyone assumed their wedding positions.

* * *

><p><strong>In the groom's room, several minutes before the wedding:<strong>

"Your suit looks _fine, _Ruby," Gold assured Ruby who was nervously fixing his suit.

"Fine isn't good enough Gold! I have to look spectacular!"

Gold rolled his eyes and turned away. "Black?" he said, looking for support from the other male.

"You look spectacular Ruby," Black assured.

There was an annoyed sound from the doorway and Gold turned to find Silver looking very unenthusiastic.

"Hey Silver," Gold greeted. "Don't you want to tell Ruby how good he looks?"

"No."

"Come on Silver!"

"No."

"Guys, this is Ruby's wedding day. Get along," Red scolded as he entered the groom's pavilion.

"I _was _getting along," Gold said defensively while Silver just glared at the floor.

"Aah!" Ruby shouted, startling the others. "There's a loose thread. What do we do? WHAT DO WE DO?"

"Calm down," Black said. "We can just cut it."

"No. It's ruined." Ruby fell backwards onto a chair, the very image of despondence. "We have to delay the wedding."

"No one cares," Silver growled.

"Clearly at least one person does," Gold pointed out as Ruby looked a few seconds away from sobbing.

"You're an illusion mage," Black said to Ruby. "Can't you just magic your suit into looking perfect?"

Ruby stared at him, and his expression gradually brightened until he was beaming. "I can! Yes! The wedding isn't ruined!" He made a few hand gestures and was briefly covered in a light purple sheen which soon vanished and he looked…exactly the same. "This looks so much better! Thank you Black!"

"Uh…you're welcome?" Black replied, staring at Ruby and trying to figure out what had changed.

"Does he look any different?" Gold whispered at Red who just shrugged.

"Can I leave yet?" Silver asked.

"No, you're a groomsman," Gold replied.

"Why do I have to do this and Green doesn't?" Silver demanded.

"He wouldn't let me help at his wedding!" Ruby declared.

"I didn't let you help at mine either," Silver pointed out. "In fact I didn't invite _any _of you."

"Exactly!" Ruby replied. "You excluded all of us equally. Green specifically didn't let me be a part of the wedding."

"Well, can you blame him?" Gold asked. "You wanted to make Blue look like a cupcake. And cupcakes are not sexy."

"Well that depends on the cupcake doesn't it?" retorted Ruby.

"You think there are sexy cupcakes?" Red said bewildered.

"There could be," Ruby muttered.

"Are you getting married in that?" Black asked, pointing at Ruby's white hat and, thankfully, changing the subject from cupcakes and whether they can be sexy.

Ruby clutched the hat reflexively. "I – I always wear this. But…wearing hats with formal attire is rude…" He looked helplessly at his friends who were not much help. Silver glared at him, Red shrugged, Gold just grinned at him and Black started listing instances of people getting married in hats, which was really not helpful since Ruby had never heard of any of the people before. "Why do you even know that?" Ruby blurted after Black stopped listing people.

Black smiled sheepishly and said, "I read a lot."

"About people getting married in hats," Silver deadpanned.

"There was a book about it," Black muttered.

"Did it say anything about their married lives being marred by their decision to wear a hat on their wedding day despite it being against the civilized dress code?"

"What?" Gold asked.

"No, it didn't say anything about that," Black replied.

"You're getting married to Sapph," Red pointed out. "She's not going to care about what you're wearing. She's probably complaining about the dress right now!" (Red was right. She was. Loudly).

"Yeah, you're right. Everything's going to be fine," Ruby said to himself. "We have flowers and cake and music and - "

"Everything's ready," Black interrupted. "You really don't have to list everything." Ruby ignored this advice and continued. Red and Gold took this as permission to talk amongst themselves.

By the time Ruby had finished his list of wedding necessities and their status, it was time for the wedding to begin. "Ruby, it's time, let's get out there." Ruby jumped up and shot out the door. This startled all the groomsmen and after taking a second to compose themselves they rushed out after him.

* * *

><p><strong>In the garden a few minutes before the wedding:<strong>

Platina stood holding Aqua with Dia and Pearl staring at the child and Green looming over them all, making sure none of them hurt his daughter.

"Stop trying to give her candy Diamond!" Pearl chided, stopping Dia from giving some of his secret candy stash (which he kept with him always) to the baby girl.

"But she looks hungry," Dia said.

"She's not," Green stated, glaring at the perpetually-hungry man. Dia subsided immediately.

"Ack!" someone screamed interrupting their conversation.

The baby started crying and the four turned to glare at the screamer.

"Emerald," Platina greeted the man who had screamed. "It is pleasant to see you."

"Platina, did you- Is that your baby?" Emerald spluttered. "When did that happen?"

"No, this is Green's child," Platina replied.

"Oh," Emerald said. "But she looks too nice to be related to him." Green glared at Emerald and Aqua matched the look. "Never mind."

"Aww, look at the cute baby," said Wally appearing by Emerald's side.

"Hi Wally," Pearl greeted.

"What's her name?" Wally asked as he played with the girl's fingers.

"Aqua," Green replied.

"Aqua?" Emerald said. "What kind of a name is that? What if she ends up being a fire mage or something?"

"Then she can set anyone who makes fun of her on fire," Green replied as he took Aqua back from Platina.

"Well if she doesn't I'm sure you will," Pearl muttered.

The musicians suddenly started playing which put a halt to all conversation in the garden.

"Oooh! Time for the wedding!" Dia enthused.

"About time!" Pearl said.

"I am quite excited myself," Platina said.

The group took seats near the front and waited for the wedding to begin.

* * *

><p><strong>The Wedding<strong>

Ruby stood under an arch made of living plants and waited anxiously for the ceremony to start. Gentle music filled the air and the stares of the audience made him fidget uncomfortably. Then he saw Sapphire walking down the aisle. Her dress was much simpler than he would have made, but it suited her as much as any dress could. As he watched her walk towards him up the aisle he knew he would do anything for her to be happy. For _them _to be happy – together. And when she reached him and took his hands, he knew for certain that they would be.

* * *

><p><strong>After the wedding:<strong>

Blue, Yellow and Red stood together away from the dance floor, baby Aqua in Blue's arms. "You have to take it easy Yellow," Blue said. "Take care of Aqua's new best friend!"

"They're already best friends?" Red said. "What if they don't like each other?"

Blue's face took on a dark look which she turned on Red (Aqua seemed to find this amusing and Red could have sworn the baby smirked at him) and proclaimed, "They _will _be best friends."

"Just go with it," Yellow whispered to Red. "She's crazy."

"Yeah. I thought maybe Green would have grounded her after all this time," Red whispered back.

"I think if anything she influenced him."

"What are you two muttering about?" Blue demanded.

"Nothing," Red and Yellow simultaneously replied, both with too-innocent smiles on their faces.

"Blue," Said Green as he walked towards the trio. "Are you ready to leave?"

"No," Blue replied. "But I think Aqua is." She sighed dramatically and turned to Yellow. "Get ready, soon you'll have to leave all parties early."

"Really?" Yellow asked excitedly. "I would love an excuse to leave early!"

"I'm ashamed that you're my best friend," Blue deadpanned. "Now we must depart." She took Green's arm with the one not holding Aqua and waved to Red and Yellow. They stopped to congratulate Ruby and Sapphire once more, then went on their way.

"We can leave now too is you want," Red said.

"I just don't like being around this many people," Yellow explained sheepishly.

"I don't really either. We see everyone all the time anyway so we might as well go home. Let's just go say goodbye to Ruby and Sapph before they leave on their honeymoon."

Yellow smiled gratefully at him and the two made their way to Ruby and Sapphire, who were surrounded by well-wishers. Sapph looked a bit annoyed at all the attention while Ruby flourished in it. Sapph had somehow ripped the sleeves off of her dress and lost her shoes somewhere. Her hair had also escaped the bun and was in an odd half-up, half-down blob. She saw Yellow and Red approaching and waved at them. "Hey guys!"

"We're going to leave now," Red told her. "But we wanted to congratulate you one more time."

"Thank you very much," Ruby said joining the conversations. "It was lovely having you attend our wedding."

"What's wrong with him?" Yellow asked, shocked out of her normal polite nature.

"He gets like this in crowds," Sapph explained. "Something about the attention turns him into…well, that." She waved in his direction where Ruby was acting like a talk-show host.

"Right…" Red said, sharing a puzzled look with Yellow. "Well, congratulations on your wedding and have a nice honeymoon. We'll see you at the post-honeymoon party Blue is certain to throw."

"She does love her parties," Sapph agreed. "See ya guys."

Red and Yellow smiled and the pair left. Their spot around Ruby and Sapph was soon taken by Gold and Crys who were fresh off the dance floor.

"Hey Sapph," Crys greeted. "Uh…what happened to your dress?"

"I made it more comfortable," Sapph replied.

"If you'd have let me make the dress it would have been much nicer than that one," Ruby muttered. The other guests had left and now he was back to his normal personality.

"Hey! You're back to normal!" Sapph said.

"What do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.

"Ya were actin' pretty strange with all the attention."

"I was not!"

"Red and Yellow even mentioned it."

"They did not!"

"They did," Crys added.

"Yep. I heard them," Gold agreed.

"I – Well – I get nervous in crowds," Ruby finally admitted.

"You're not the one in ripped clothes and hair that looks like it was done by a yeti," Gold said.

"Gold!" Crys scolded, hitting him and sending him staggering several steps to the side.

"Are yeti's bad hairdressers?" Sapph asked. "I'm not sure if having my hair done by a yeti is an insult or not."

"It's an insult," Ruby informed.

"But yetis have a lotta hair. Wouldn't that mean they'd be _good _with hair?" Sapph pointed out.

Gold started laughing and slung an arm around Sapph's shoulders. "We should hang out more," he said.

"No!" Ruby and Crys said simultaneously.

"Oh! There's Silver! I'm going to go bother him!" Gold ran off.

"He just ditched me," Crys complained.

"Don't worry Crys. He always comes back to you right?" soothed Lyra as she wandered over to the trio.

"Says the woman who just ditched her husband to get harassed by my boyfriend," Crys muttered.

"I still can't believe you didn't invite anyone to _your _wedding," Ruby said to Lyra. " I would have made you a beautiful dress."

"I don't think anyone is letting you anywhere near a woman getting married after what you made Yellow wear," Lyra told him.

"Yeah. Blue about died laughing when Yellow tried to put that on," Crys said, a smile appearing on her face as she remembered the scene. The tiny blonde girl lost amongst a seeming ocean of white fabric.

"Heh, that's why I didn't let him anywhere near my dress," Sapph explained. "I was afraid I'd call the wedding off because of his insane fashion sense."

Lyra laughed. "A wedding halted because the bride wanted a _less _pretty dress. Well you never do anything in the traditional way do you?"

"That's a bit rich coming from you," Crys said. "You and Silver disappeared one night and came back married the next day."

Lyra grinned. "It was a great wedding. It's a shame you all missed it."

Because you didn't invite us," Ruby said.

"Yeah, well I wanted to get married, but Silver didn't want anyone seeing him do anything romantic so we compromised by having a secret wedding!"

"Lyra we need to leave," a harried looking Silver said, grabbing Lyra's hand and tugging at it.

"Is Gold being mean to you?" Lyra asked in a slightly mocking tone. "Don't worry Silver, I can protect you!"

Silver grumbled something about being a grown man, but when Gold found his way over he still made sure that Lyra acted as a buffer between the two of them.

"Gold," Crys said as the man stared at Silver, clearly planning something. "Leave him alone. You don't want to ruin another wedding do we?"

"I didn't ruin Yellow's wedding!" Gold said defensively. "Yellow should have specified that she didn't want any of the plants to be on fire!"

"Yes. Because that is something people have to explicitly state," Silver mocked.

"It got put out!"

"Blue put it out and in the process accidentally soaked Red."

"Guys!" Crys yelled. "Stop it!"

"It's okay Crys," Sapph assured. "This is way more fun than sitting around and talking to boring civilized people." Sapph spat the word civilized as if it were the worst insult imaginable (which for her it probably was).

"Civilized people are good people," Ruby reminded her. "Barbarians like to destroy things. Like dresses," he glared at her missing sleeves as he said this.

Sapph grinned proudly. "Tearing those sleeves off wasn't easy," she said. Ruby sighed.

* * *

><p><strong>A few feet away<strong>

"Look at all the food!" Dia exclaimed as he piled food on his plate until he had a tower of food that tilted precariously and threatened to topple over.

"Careful Dia," Platina said. "You do not want to get food on your clothing."

Dia nodded absentmindedly but was more focused on consuming the food as quickly as possible.

"I do not understand how he has not become overweight," Platina mused to Pearl.

"He's always been that way," Pearl replied with a shrug. "He ate and ate and never got fat. The girls all hated him."

A girl Platina had never seen before started waving enthusiastically at Pearl who waved back a bit reluctantly. "Who is that woman?" Platina asked.

"Blue has been introducing me to people all night," Pearl replied. "She's really insistent I get a girlfriend for some reason."

"It's Blue, does she need a reason?" White asked as she wandered up to the blonde boy.

"She probably just thinks you're lonely," Black added as he slung an arm around his girlfriend's shoulder. "All of the rest of us have significant others."

"Emerald and Wally don't," White corrected.

"Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about those guys," Black mumbled.

"We never did spend much time with either of them," Platina said. At this point Dia came over, back from refilling his plate.

"Wow. That's a lot of food!" White exclaimed.

"Are you going to eat all of that?" Black asked. Dia nodded. "I don't think that's humanly possible. Does your magic give you some sort of super-eating ability?"

"I don't think so," Dia replied.

"It defies all the laws of nature," Black said as he observed Dia like he was some sort of lab animal.

"Leave him alone Black," White said, gently hitting him.

"We had better leave before Dia finishes off the food," Platina said. Dia looked disappointed, but agreed it was for the best.

Platina walked off authoritatively and Dia followed, though he _did _end up grabbing a few more snacks as they passed the snack table.

"So how have you two been?" Pearl asked White and Black.

"Great!" White exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Fine," Pearl replied. "Though I would like Blue to stop setting me up with random women."

"You don't want to meet people?" Black asked.

"I _would _like to meet someone. But everyone she's introduced me to is insane. Like that girl." Pearl pointed out a girl with her hair dyed several different colors who was doing handstands on the dance floor.

"Yikes," Black said. "How did she get her hair that many colors?"

"No idea. I don't know if Blue only knows crazy people or if she thinks I like insane people."

"Well, these are Sapph and Ruby's friends so Blue doesn't even know them all that well," White said. White's thoughts went back to the conversation before the wedding but decided explaining Blue's though processes would make things worse.

"She's introducing me to people she doesn't even know?" Pearl mused. "What a weird girl."

"She's an enigma even to me," Black added. "Usual my magic helps me read people, but it's useless in the face of her insanity."

"Heya guys," Sapph said, appearing next to Pearl.

"Sapph! How's it feel to be a married woman?" White greeted.

"Why would I feel different from before?" Sapph wondered. "Ruby and I have been together for five years now. Being married doesn't really change anything."

"But our honeymoon will," Ruby cut in. "We're going to Lumiose City! It has the most amazing boutiques and I'm going to look at all the clothes and it will be amazing!"

Sapph mimed gagging, but stopped before Ruby looked at her. "Uh…That sounds nice?" Pearl said though it came out as a question.

"I heard that there are all kinds of battle cafés there," Sapph informed. "I'm really excited!" She grinned wolfishly.

"Sounds fun," White said.

"Yes it does, we should go! We should go now! Honeymoon time!" Sapph grabbed Ruby's arm and started dragging him away.

"We'll see you all afterwards!" Ruby yelled as they disappeared outside.

"Well, I guess the party's over," White mused.

"Yeah, I better leave before one of the women Blue introduced me to eats me. I don't like the looks their giving me," Pearl said glancing at a few women suspiciously.

"You can leave with us," Black said. "We can protect you from zombie women."

"If there's a zombie I'm running away and leaving you two to deal with it," White informed as they headed out.

"After all we've been through you'd ditch me because of zombies?" Black said in a fake hurt voice.

"If it turns out zombies are real all of society will collapse anyway."

"Well it turned out Pokémon are real so you might not want to make zombie jokes," Pearl cautioned.

"Hmm. That's actually a good point," Black replied. "I wonder if there could be zombies. I should - "

"Not look into it," White finished for him. "I _really _don't want to know if zombies are possible."

Black sighed but conceded, though he decided that he would look into it when White was distracted with her talent agency.

The three left the wedding in time to see Ruby and Sapph getting into a limo heading for the airport and looking the image of married bliss (even with the ripped dress and missing shoes).

White smiled as she saw them and turned to Black. "Everyone is so grown up now. I'm sort of afraid we'll grow apart," she confessed.

"I don't how grown up. I mean Ruby had a freak out before because of a loose thread," Black replied. "And besides, the important things haven't changed. We're all still the same people, we just live a bit farther away from them."

"It doesn't matter how much time passes," Pearl said. "With all the stuff we've been through we're all going to be friends for life."

"He's right," Black said. "Besides Blue is sure to throw some crazy party and we'll see everyone again in a few weeks."

* * *

><p>Three weeks later White received an invitation from Blue inviting her to come to Blue's "Celebratory Post-Ruby and Sapph's Honeymoon Party." There was a note afterwards that said that anyone who didn't come would be tracked down, thrown into a sack and brought to the party by force. White grinned and ticked the "Will Attend" box.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Author Note: <strong>

**And there it is. The end. I hope you enjoyed the story and thanks for the kind reviews! **


End file.
